PEOPLE, POLITICS AND CHANGE BUILDING COMMUNICATION CAPACITY FOR GOVERNANCE REFORM

Cecilia Cabañero-Verzosa Helen R. Garcia PEOPLE, POLITICS AND CHANGE BUILDING COMMUNICATION CAPACITY FOR GOVERNANCE REFORM

Cecilia Cabañero-Verzosa & Helen R. Garcia

# Table of Contents

Introduction 01\
Communication Processes for Governance Reform 07\
Case Study Briefs 21\
Facilitation Tips 25\
Adult Learning 29

**MODULE I: KNOWING THE REFORM CONTEXT**\
Session 1: Linking Communication and Governance 45\
Session 2: Using Political Economy Analysis 97

**MODULE II: ADDRESSING RECURRING CHALLENGES – THE THREE WILLS**\
Session 3: Securing Political Will 125\
Session 4: Securing Organizational Will 167\
Session 5: Mobilizing Public Will 221

**MODULE III: MANAGING REFORM POLITICS**\
Session 6: Framing and Agenda Setting 287\
Session 7: Coalition Building 331\
Session 8: Mitigating the Collective Action Problem 363\
Session 9: Managing Conflict Among Multiple Stakeholders 391

**MODULE IV: SUSTAINING CHANGE**\
Session 10: Sustaining Reform / Counter-reform Never Sleeps 457

Case Summaries 473\
Tools and Templates 493\
Glossary 499 This learning and resource guide for facilitators, trainers, reform teams is our modest contribution to the formidable challenge of leading change through governance reform. We would like to thank the many people who have offered their expertise and experiences, as well as their passion for helping reform teams in developing countries confront the task of fostering governance reform and securing the political will, public will and organizational will to ensure that governance reform is relentlessly pursued.

Through the Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), which is financially supported by the UK Department for International Development (DfID), the work on this capacity building and training program began in 2006. The flagship course, People, Politics and Change: Building Communication Capacity for Governance Reform grew out of a Learning Needs Assessment which informed the design and content of CommGAP’s global learning program. Special thanks go to all those whom we interviewed for this needs analysis—World Bank governance advisers, public sector reform specialists, senior government officials and development and communication professionals—for sharing their insights on communication challenges and capacity needs of governance-reform implementation. Our work benefitted greatly from the valuable guidance and advice from various consultation sessions with a multi-disciplinary team composed of senior faculty from various academic institutions and colleagues at the World Bank. The pedagogical approach and the course materials were jointly developed by academics, sector specialists and subject-matter experts, and then tested in the classroom and continuously adapted, refined, and tailored to the expressed needs of successive cohorts of course participants. Our goal was to create a global learning program on communication and governance which meets the highest standards of quality, relevance and sustainability. This required the collective effort of many individuals, and the materials presented in this guide represent their valuable contributions. We hope to keep this guide a “live” document to which many more will be willing to contribute ideas, concepts, approaches and tools.

We offer our debt of gratitude to our Panel of Advisers: Vicki Freimuth, Director, Center for Health and Risk Communication and Professor, Department of Speech Communication and Grady School of Journalism, University of Georgia; Eric Henry, Managing Partner, CM Partners, LLC; Thomas Jacobson, Temple University, Senior Associate Dean in the School of Communications and Theater and Professor of Communication in the School’s Department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media; Gary Orren, Professor of Public Policy and Management, Kennedy School of Government Harvard University; Alasdair S. Roberts, Professor of Law and Public Policy, Suffolk University Law School and Faculty Director of the Rapaport Center for Law and Public Service; Dietram Scheufele, Professor of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our colleagues at the World Bank who participated in the consultation sessions: Colum Garrity, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM); John Garrison, External Affairs, Civil Society; Henriette von Kaltenborn-Stachau, CommGAP External Affairs, Communication for Development; Natalia Kirpikova, External Affairs, Communication for Development; Mary McNeil, World Bank Institute (WBI); Paul Mitchell, External Affairs, Communication for Development; Stephen Ndegwa, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM), Africa region; Sina Odugbemi, CommGAP, External Affairs, Communication for Development; Andrea Ries Padmanabhan, Sustainable Development Network (SDN); Francesca Recanatini, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM); and Jeff Thindwa, External Affairs, Civil Society.

The World Bank staff and colleagues from other institutions who helped develop course presentations include Anne-Katrin Arnold, Jose Edgardo L. Campos, Thomas Jacobson, Natalia Kirpikova, Sumir Lal, Antonio Joselito G. Lambino, Lori Ann Post, and Sina Odugbemi.

Those individuals who contributed instructional tools and learning materials—case studies, exercises, simulations, animations, interactive video, and videotaped expert interviews are Thomas Fiutak, Vicki Freimuth, Eric Henry, Thomas Jacobson, Natalia Kirpikova, Antonio Joselito G. Lambino, and Najma Siddiqi.

And we were fortunate in having the full support of CommGAP; led by Program Head Sina Odugbemi, Diana Ya Wai Chung, Johanna Martinson, Anne-Katrin Arnold, and Antonio Joselito G. Lambino.

We thank our editor and publisher, Dilip K. Mirchandani, whose guidance has helped us experiment with, and navigate the process of using a transmedia knowledge-sharing platform.

Finally, we are grateful to the 231 course participants from 45 countries, who have joined us in classroom discussions and continue to share their country experiences in manifesting governance reform. We encourage them and their development partners to use and adapt the knowledge and learning resources in this guide for further strengthening communication capacity to achieve sustainable governance reform outcomes. It is, after all, on behalf of these developing country reform teams that we have all ventured on this journey. Cecilia Cabañero-Verzosa directed the capacity-building and training program of CommGAP and served as lead facilitator for its flagship course, *People, Politics and Change* in Washington DC, South Africa, and the Philippines. She has integrated this course into the newly-launched (> Leadership) program of the World Bank Institute, targeting multi-stakeholder reform teams in developing countries. Together with faculty from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, she co-facilitated the executive course on Strategic Communication in July 2011. This new executive education program aims to develop a cadre of strategic-communication specialists from the private sector, civil society organizations and academia that are based in developing countries and able to assist reform teams on-site. She has created a competency-based curriculum on strategic communication, conflict management, and client engagement, and directed the Strategic Communication Learning Program at the World Bank—a program that has reached some 8,000 participants, including World Bank managers, sector specialists, project teams and their developing county partners, and communication specialists worldwide. She has experimented with various e-learning formats to expand the reach of learning programs including the interactive, online performance support tool on strategic communication, a web-compatible, interactive video, animation and short video-taped interviews with experts. She has experimented with the use of video scribing using *ydraw* to explain technical material in an entertaining way. Ms. Verzosa has also facilitated sessions for developing country leadership teams using the platform of *Second Life*, a virtual world wherein participants engage with one another through their avatars. She is currently exploring the use of electronic video games for development.

Helen Garcia is an international development consultant with over 20 years of cross-sectoral experience and has worked in policy research, program development and capacity building. She conducted the 2007 Learning Needs Assessment, which shaped the design and content of CommGAP’s flagship course on communication and governance, *People, Politics and Change*. In 2010, she led a qualitative survey of development practitioners and senior communication professionals as research input to CommGAP’s Executive Course in Communication and Governance Reform delivered in partnership with the World Bank Institute’s Governance and Leadership Practice, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. As the lead capacity building consultant, she worked on the integration and mainstreaming of CommGAP’s course content in various learning platforms within the World Bank and other development institutions. Ms. Garcia has written case studies as teaching tools on the politics of reform in water and sanitation, urban transport, roads, public procurement and tax administration, and draws from her operational experience. and public sector background as a writer of fictionalized accounts of reform programs based on real-world country experiences. She has worked on multi-media learning applications, and managed the documentary video production on the Philippines Procurement Reform Law and interviewed key players involved in the reform. Prior to CommGAP, she worked on social development issues for World Bank lending programs in Albania, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Poland and the West Bank and Gaza, poverty assessments in Ecuador, Pakistan, Philippines, Hungary, and Zambia, and the infrastructure and energy sector work in China, Indonesia, Thailand and Mexico. Before the World Bank, she worked at the International Food Policy Research Institute, where she conducted urban and rural household surveys in Pakistan for a USAID-funded research project on food security and poverty. In the Philippines, she was Director for Social Development in the Office of the Prime Minister. Her current interests in capacity building are trained on exploring advancements in pedagogical design and integration of technology solutions, the use of transmedia and immersive learning platforms to increase learner performance. The Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP) was established in 2006 as a global program to confront challenges which create barriers to achieving effective and sustainable governance outcomes. In particular, CommGAP was created to address specific gaps that undercut the quality of governance reform efforts: a structural gap, a process gap, and a capacity gap. The structural gap, produced by the insufficient recognition of the public sphere as an essential part in securing good governance and accountability, leads to a narrow, fragmented approach in the design and approach of many governance reform programs. The process gap is one that arises from a lack of applicable processes to deal effectively with political economy issues and people-related challenges due to vested interests and stakeholder resistance to change. The capacity gap deals with the problem of the meager capabilities among researchers, development and communication practitioners in government agencies, NGOs or private firms in ways that hinder their ability to provide effective and strategic support in the implementation of governance reform programs.

The program goals of CommGAP are:

1. Develop innovative, communication-based analytical and diagnostic approaches, conceptual frameworks and tools to support governance reform;
2. Influence policy with respect to how governance reform programs are designed and implemented;
3. Distill and disseminate lessons learned from around the world;
4. Strengthen the discipline of communication as it applies to governance reform;
5. Build a community of practice around a more holistic approach to governance reform.

To achieve these goals, CommGAP’s core program is divided into three interrelated and mutually reinforcing areas of work: research and advocacy, training and capacity building, and operational support to development programs and projects.

**FLAGSHIP COURSE—PEOPLE, POLITICS AND CHANGE: BUILDING COMMUNICATION CAPACITY FOR GOVERNANCE REFORM**

In 2008, the Training and Capacity Building Program delivered an innovative training and capacity-building program for reform managers in development organizations in developing countries. Figure 1.1 Course participants identified governance challenges encountered in the field. That program, which formed the induction of this flagship trainer’s guide, was grounded on the knowledge and insights gained through CommGAP research work, global dialogues and learning events. It grew out of a needs-assessment conducted a year earlier that identified critical capacity gaps in addressing communication challenges in governance reform programs. This assessment guided World Bank and senior government officials from 5 countries in Asia and Africa in designing the global learning program by providing information on three main issues: (1) challenges and obstacles that impede information and communication processes; (2) institutional constraints and capacity needs in supporting governance reform; and (3) the role of communication and the value of media development in enhancing transparency and accountability. More importantly, the study revealed recurrent real-world obstacles to reform across varying socio-economic and political environments. These are:

- Lack of political will or broad leadership support for change
- Resistance from middle managers or the professional bureaucracy
- Vested interests and special interest groups opposed to reform
- Hostile or indifferent public opinion
- Unorganized majorities with no voice
- Weak citizen demand for accountability

This trainer’s guide is designed to help reform leaders and change agents tackle the persistent challenges identified during needs assessment. Core modules, focusing on governance and accountability issues, were fostered in consultation with senior governance practitioners, program managers, communication experts and professionals from the academic and development communities.

Our global learning program is designed for reform managers in government and in donor organizations to build their capacity in employing strategic communication approaches and techniques necessary to successfully implement difficult reforms and achieve the governance objective of developing capable, transparent and accountable institutions. It furthers one of CommGAP’s key goals; that of equipping reformers and change agents with operationally relevant knowledge and innovative communication approaches and tools to support governance reform implementation.

It is a learning program aimed at advancing CommGAP’s strategic focus in promoting positive, accountable governance in terms of development policy and practice through the use of innovative communication approaches and techniques to strengthen the various components of the public sphere—engaged citizens, a vibrant civil society, pluralistic and independent media, and transparent government institutions.

This resource is designed for reform managers, change agents, development practitioners, and training professionals who are interested in learning relevant communication concepts, frameworks and applications for addressing communication challenges in governance reform programs. More specifically, it is a practical guide for trainers in facilitating a learning program with respect to communication and governance reform that is grounded on understand distilled from research, expert knowledge from academics and scholars, and practitioners’ expertise that has been culled and enriched from CommGAP’s series of global dialogue on key governance issues.

Some of the key concepts, frameworks and innovative approaches introduced in the course are:

- Democratic public sphere as the space where citizens come together, share opinions on public affairs and discuss issues of common concern. It is a participatory space, a free marketplace of ideas where citizens’ voices are amplified and public opinion are formed. Communication is defined in its broadest sense—“Communication bridges all the constitutive elements of the public sphere—engaged citizenries, vibrant civil societies, plural and independent media systems, open government institutions, and thus forms the framework for national dialogue through which informed public opinion is shaped on key issues of public concern and public policy.”

Communication plays a role in governance on two levels:

1. Communication structures, which include free, plural, and independent media systems, robust civil society, and the legal and regulatory framework that enables or impedes the free flow of information between government and citizens which are essential components of the so called ‘democratic public sphere’, the space where citizens and government can communicate, engage in dialogue and form public opinion to influence change.
2. Communication processes, which are ‘one-way’ or unilateral in terms of the direction of the conveyed information, or ‘two-way’, which is more oriented toward participatory and deliberative processes of dialogue.

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1 Odugbemi, Sina and Jacobson, Thomas, Eds (2008). Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice. Washington, DC: The World Bank. • The What, Why and How of reform as a mechanism to move from political economy analysis to action. • The 3 Wills of governance challenges - political will, organizational will and public will, as a framework for addressing recurring obstacles in real-world contexts. • Coalition building supported by strategic communication as a mechanism to effectively manage the politics of reform. Reformers are people with a vision — of what is possible. And reformers who succeed in working for the common good have their feet firmly planted on the ground, confronting reality and recognizing where their people are, in their knowledge and understanding of the need for reform as well as people's capacity to change. These reform leaders, their teams, and their allies are able to tap the people's energies to pursue reform goals by inspiring them to own the problem and convert their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in ways that contribute to the success of reform.

This book is about governance reform and how communication approaches can help reformers build understanding and support for its goals and aspirations. Governance refers to the manner in which “public officials and institutions acquire and exercise the authority to shape public policy and provide public goods and services.”¹ The UK Department for International Development (DFID) elaborates by stating that “good governance is not just about government … it is about how citizens, leaders and public institutions respond to each other in order to make change happen.”² DFID notes that good governance requires: State capability (the extent to which leaders and governments are able to get things done); responsiveness (whether public policies and institutions respond to the needs of citizens and uphold their rights; and accountability (the ability of citizens, civil society and the private sector to scrutinize public institutions and governments and hold them to account).

Because governance reform can only be effectively achieved through the combined energies and commitment of three key entities within a public sector governance system, the book highlights communication approaches that diagnose the power relationships among these three groups and enable them to find ways to collaborate, coalesce, and work together to achieve good governance. As described in the World Bank's World Development Report, 2004, the key relationships of power among the State (politicians and policymakers), the citizens, and service providers (management teams in bureaucracies) are critical for governance reform.

¹ GAC Strategy, Strengthening World Bank Group Engagement on Governance and Anti-corruption (2007). Washington, DC: The World Bank. ² United Kingdom Department for International Development. 2006. Eliminating World Poverty: Making Governance Work for the Poor. Norwich, U.K.: Stationery Office. Leadership teams who promote governance reform face two types of challenges. The first involves technical challenges. For instance, which “rules of the game,” embedded in policies and procedures that govern how the State makes its purchases of public goods and services, will promote transparency and openness in public-procurement transactions. A technical challenge such as this can readily be addressed because there are known solutions and an authoritative source to provide advice or assistance in resolving the problem.

The second, adaptive challenges are those which present no clear technical solutions, because the problem is new and authorities can provide neither direction nor guidance. Adaptive challenges require the people with the problem to own the problem and change their own priorities, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Adaptive challenges are best addressed through communication-based approaches. Technical experts usually find these challenges messy and difficult to contend with. Many prefer to promote reform “by stealth,” or using power, coercion, manipulation of incentives, and disinformation instead of taking the more time-consuming option of helping people recognize the need for change and creating the space for change. Adaptive challenges that are given technical, expert-driven solutions frustrate people and lead to their disenchantment with reform.

An analysis of governance reform challenges shows the present environment as one where citizens are uninformed and/or disengaged, where governments are unresponsive to citizen demands and unaccountable to their constituents, where there is a lack of political efficacy, and where a culture of corruption and bad governance thrives. Governance reform goals are clear: an informed and active citizenry, a responsive and accountable government, and citizens able to hold their government accountable for the delivery of public goods and services in an open and transparent manner. But how does a society move from the current situation to a desired state?

In this book, we emphasize three types of obstacles to governance reform drawn from our CommGAP learning needs assessment conducted in 2007 to lay the groundwork for the development of the learning program for Communication and Governance. These three types of obstacles complement the key power

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3 Heifetz, Ronald, Grashow, Alexander, and Linsky, Marty (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

4 Garcia, Helen R. (2007). Needs assessment for the learning program on communication and governance. Internal report. Washington, DC: The World Bank. relationships mentioned above: the State, the public, and the service providers. We then provide examples, case materials and exercises that can be used in a learning environment—whether in workshops, formal courses, or in group discussions—to be held within organizations or among multi-stakeholder networks.

The first obstacle is the lack of political will. Political will to pursue governance reform exists when there is support from enough political leaders to pursue the policy change. Necessary conditions include: a sufficient set of political actors representing a broad-based constituency, a common understanding of a particular problem on the public agenda, genuine intent of political leaders to support reform, and a commonly perceived potentially effective policy solution. The challenge in securing political will by removing or deflecting resistance from the “iron law of oligarchy,” whereby there is a persistence of power elites, a persistence of bad rulers, and persistence of bad rules. Communication can play a critical role in securing political will. Organized groups can pressure policymakers and government officials through public interest lobbying by the following means: rallies and demonstrations by a broad cross-section of society to air issues, backroom negotiations with targeted policymakers to uncover hidden interests, framing the issues by the mass media to mobilize political will and provoke the nation’s leaders into action.

The second obstacle is the challenge of developing organizational will. Organizations and institutions are often averse to change or, at best, they move change at a glacial pace. The middle managers in the organization have been described as “a layer of clay through which nothing passes.” Communication approaches that create a sense of urgency for change, engage the entire organization in moving forward and develop trust among the leaders, middle managers and the staff will help mitigate the hazard of feeble organizational will. Appreciative inquiry, an approach described by Kevin Barge (2008, p. 198) allows middle managers to comprehend the urgency for change, empowers them as equal partners, provides them a pathway for change and addresses their concerns regarding vulnerability.

The third obstacle is the absence of public will. Public will translates into public support which results in policy change and reform. There are many reasons why public will is stifled, voiceless, or simply absent among the people, government officials and policymakers. Reforms often occasion long-term benefits to many, but also provide short-term gains to a few elite groups. If the costs of reform are known but the benefits are not well understood, potential “losers” with access and representation in the political system can oppose and derail the reform. This dilemma is well described by Gaetano Mosca (1939) Mosca proposed that “The domination of an organized minority over the unorganized majority is inevitable. The power of any minority is irresistible as against each single individual in the majority, who stands alone before the totality of the organized minority. At the same time, the minority is organized for the same reason that it is a minority.”

The main communication challenge therefore is how to organize the unorganized majority. An approach for undertaking this effort is described in the following illustration:

Another important approach for mobilizing public will is coalition building. This refers to the process of creating collaborative engagement among groups of people with shared interests who are in agreement about working together to pursue a common goal.

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5 Acemoglu, Daron (2011). Daron Acemoglu (2011). Origins and Limits of Democracy. Presentation at the World Bank, April 18, 2011. 6 Oshry, B. (2003, November 19). Managing in the Middle. The Management Forum Series. A presentation in Portland, Oregon. 7 Barge, Kevin (2008). Gaining the support of public sector middle managers. In Governance reform under real-world conditions. Odugbemi, Sina and Jacobson, Thomas (Eds). Washington, DC: The World Bank. 8 Gaetano Mosca (1939). The Ruling Class. New York: McGraw-Hill, p. 53. 9 Arnold, Anne-Katrin and Garcia, Helen R. (2011) Generating Genuine Demand for Accountability through Communication — A Facilitator’s Guide. Washington, DC: The World Bank. In summary, communication approaches can be developed to address the Three Wills and secure political will, organizational will and public will. The following illustration below shows how simultaneous interventions on these three fronts can fuel progress in governance reform.

**Securing Sustainable Reform through the 3 Wills**

- **Political will** among coalitions of leaders and policymakers (opinion, attitude, and behavior change among elites)

- **Organizational will** within bureaucracies, especially at middle management level (opinion, attitude, and behavior change among public sector bureaucrats)

- **Public will** by mobilizing civil society and encouraging citizen participation (opinion, attitude, and behavior change among members of the public)

*Figure 1.5*

Source: CommGAP (n.d.) Communication for good governance. Author’s illustration The Four Steps to Governance Reform Communication

There are four steps to developing, implementing and evaluating communication interventions for governance reform. Undertaken in an iterative manner, reform teams can keep their communication activities highly targeted to critical stakeholders, with messages that are relevant to these stakeholders’ needs, and by using channels of communication that are credible. Communication interventions in governance reform are particularly challenging, as concepts of good governance may not be well understood by the unorganized majority while being fully appreciated by organized elites who generally prefer the status quo. Furthermore, corrupt practices and lack of transparency in public transactions may have been accepted by many in a state of passivity and resignation. Creating a sense of urgency and of personal relevance may be necessary to stir people out of their inertia. On the other hand, those interest groups or elites who benefit from the status quo will fiercely oppose change. With this situation as a typical starting point, reformers need to be highly strategic in assessing where there is space for change, and in selecting which stakeholder groups will have the appetite for and the stamina to undertake what will seem to be a formidable challenge.

First Step: Diagnose

The first order of priority is to know the lay of the land. What are the rules of the game? Where are the sources of power? What are the political economy issues that contribute to the situation? What is the institutional context where the problems persist? What adaptive challenges exist? Is there “space for change”? Having “space for change” means there are three factors that are present. First, there is some level of authority that will pursue reform goals. Second, there is acceptance of the need for reform and the proposed policy options are perceived to be viable. Third, there is the ability at some institutional level to implement reform. Though, as Andrews (2008) cautions, the reform space dictates the kind and degree of reform an organization can pursue. Following is an illustration of the Andrew’s “reform space” model.10

Analyzing the Three Wills - Access to Information in Africa

“Why is Africa lagging far behind in access to information legislation?” The findings of a working group discussion of three ministers of information, newspaper editors, activists, and academics, convened as part of the 2010 Africa Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information organized by the Carter Center, shed light on the main challenges faced in Africa. The Political economy problems cited may be classified according to the Three W’s which CommGAP uses to examine obstacles to governance reforms.

Political Will Challenges

Political leaders want to minimize personal risk and, in their view, access to information laws maximizes risk. Leaders worry that transparency laws might lead to the resurfacing of past mistakes that might put them in new jeopardy. Freedom-of-Information laws rarely produce good narratives for governments, or so they believe. They tend to produce narratives of incompetence and corruption.

Organizational Will Challenges

Civil servants resist providing access through information laws and are masters at blocking reforms they don’t want. Implementing access to information laws is seen as very expensive. Planning and budgeting for an access to information system is seen as difficult, make little sense vis-à-vis the cost and benefit of any proposed reforms. Ministries of Information in Africa tend to be very weak on the whole, and have little clout except as megaphones for the ruling party. This complicates their roles as possible champions of reform.

Public Will Challenges

Public interest in access to information hardly exists, and very few citizens see it as the activists do: a fundamental and essentially serious right. This is an example of a global norm that has not yet made landfall in Africa in any proper sense. Pro-reform coalitions, able to solve the public’s collective action problem, hardly exist. There is very little impetus coming from the region to energize national efforts for access to information.

Odugbemi, Why is the Transparency Revolution not taking off in Africa?, CommGAP. Web. April 2010

10 Andrews, Matthew (2008). Creating space for effective political engagement in development, page 100. In Odugbemi, Sina and Jacobson, Thomas. Governance reform under real-world conditions: Citizens, stakeholders, and voice. Washington, DC: The World Bank. A pragmatic approach for the diagnostic phase is the “what”, “why” and “how” technique. Three sets of issues need to be addressed. The “what” refers to understanding the political economy issues that have persisted despite repeated interventions to resolve them. The “why” seeks to find the underlying reasons why these pathologies exist prompting reformers to identify the rules of the game, the key players that can potentially block reform, and their hidden interests. Finally, the “how” prompts reformers to outline a stakeholder map using political economy dimensions of the problem as the context.

Second Step: Design

The design step covers the development of a communication strategy that provides an overview of the objectives pursued, the stakeholders to be addressed, and the desired behavior change. It also includes the framing of messages in ways that explicitly and persuasively show the benefits of change. Design work also involves the selection of an appropriate mix of communication channels, so that messages are delivered by credible spokespersons and can reach intended stakeholders with adequate intensity to be memorable. Furthermore, it is wise to determine the evaluation logic model that defines what outcomes are anticipated from the communication interventions.

A systematic approach to developing a communication strategy is suggested, through the Five Communication Management Decisions model described below. A strategy needs to be established before decisions are made on tactics — the concrete steps to be taken and the techniques to be used in realizing communication goals.

At the outset, the management objective or reform goal needs to be clarified. But to create a meaningful communication strategy, the management objective needs to be stated in a way that defines the cause of the problem and the practices that contribute to the problem. Communication interventions can then be designed, not only to increase awareness about the general problem but also to promote changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors that would contribute to the achievement of objectives and the sustained success of reform.

Operationalizing Political Economy Analysis at the Sector Level

The Bus Sector as an Example

The analysis addresses three sets of issues that pertain to the reform(s) being considered: the What, the Why, and the How.

What Examine the nature of the pathologies Understand the roots of the problem in terms of their political economy: what pathologies have persisted over time despite attempted reforms and interventions.

For example, in the commercial/bus transport sector there are typically two such pathologies: (1) the mismatch between the transport needs of the urban population and the types, quality, and number of transport modes that currently serving it, and (2) the seeming misallocation of routes among the different transport modes and providers.

Why Understand the de facto rules and regulations Doing so will explicate why these pathologies persist in the bus sector example, to get at the rules and regulations which influence and determine the (a) entry and exit of transport firms/providers, and (b) the allocation of routes.

This kind of analysis is good at unraveling in great detail the forces the forces and players—politicians, government agencies, interest groups, and even concerned individuals—who have greatest sway over the decision-making process.

Identity the key parties/players, analyze their underlying incentives/motivations Once this has been established, then one can begin to identify the key parties who might block or delay the proposed reform and analyze their underlying incentives and motivations.

From a political economy perspective, the de facto rules represent an equilibrium contract among the different parties who benefit from the arrangement; and the contract is a product of some form of implicit exchange among the different parties based on their respective preferences. This analytical approach is what distinguishes good political economy work from run-of-the-mill methods.

Continued

11 Campos, Edgardo J. and Sameer Akbar (2008). Operationalizing Political Economy: Urban Bus Operations in Dhaka. South Asia Political Economy and Governance Issues Note No. 1 World Bank. Washington, DC: World Bank. Briefly stated, the Five Communication Management Decisions are:12

- Whose support is critical to the reform’s success.
- What behaviors must be adopted to achieve the reform objectives, and what changes in knowledge and attitudes will facilitate the adoption of those behaviors.
- What messages will persuade people to support reform.
- What channels of communication will reach people and be credible to them.
- How will communication be monitored and evaluated.

Third Step: Deliver

The third step focuses on the implementation of communication interventions. These can range from a full-blown mass media campaign targeting a national audience to a series of dialogues with key influencers in government, the private sector and civic organizations, or even face-to-face meetings with certain households in the community.

In governance reform, building coalitions of people who share a common goal is essential to provide a counterweight to the more organized groups with vested interests that will attempt to derail reform effort. Also critical is the timely flow of information about the political economy issues identified during the diagnosis stage, as stakeholder preferences shift and power dynamics change as communication interventions are implemented. For example, after intense media coverage of the breadth and depth of corrupt practices in handing out public service contracts, a group of stakeholders who may earlier have had no interest in a governance reform issue might suddenly mobilize and align their efforts with those of the reformers. Or a strong lobbying effort by vested parties could soften the public stance of government officials who have previously championed governance reform.

Fourth Step: Drive

Driving change requires attending to the evolving context for reform while reflecting on lessons learned from the past. Seeking change in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors needs to be an ongoing effort, from the diagnosis to the design and the delivery steps. Reformers need to recognize the indicators of progress and how communication interventions might have change in the levels of knowledge within targeted stakeholder groups, and how knowledge about the benefits of reform are contributing to more positive attitudes towards change. High levels of knowledge combined with increased positive attitudes will enhance the likelihood that stakeholders will be able to change their behaviors in ways that contribute to the success of reform.

12 Cabanero-Verzosa, Cecilia and Garcia, Helen R. (2009). Building commitment to reform through strategic communication: The Five Key Decisions. Washington, DC: The World Bank. These four steps to communication enable reform teams to plan communication and implement activities in a more systematic manner, reducing the risk of having piecemeal activities that contribute little to the achievement of the specific reform goal.

Following is a brief example of how this four-step process was used in the communication intervention that supported the passage of the Philippine Procurement Reform law.

Diagnose: A research study of the procurement laws in the Philippines revealed the technical challenge: there existed a weighty set of rules, regulations and administrative orders that governed the public procurement of goods and services. Before the procurement reform was launched in 1999, a presidential decree passed in 1978 governed the contracting of public infrastructure projects. The adaptive challenge was more difficult to uncover, but the bottom line was that some groups benefited from this array of confusing rules and regulations, and it was not in their interest to reform the procurement system.

Design: A communication strategy was developed to address multiple stakeholders who needed to be persuaded to join the coalition and support the passage of the public procurement reform law. There were three key tasks relevant to using communication. First, communication was used to unify the executive

Figure 1.6

Design: A communication strategy was developed to address multiple stakeholders who needed to be persuaded to join the coalition and support the passage of the public procurement reform law. There were three key tasks relevant to using communication. First, communication was used to unify the executive

13 Campos, J. Edgardo and Syquia, Jose Luis (2006) page 4. Managing the politics of reform: Overhauling the legal infrastructure of public procurement in the Philippines. Washington DC: World Bank. branch of government. Key officials of the executive branch of government, led by the Department of Budget and Management together with various line ministries, such as the Department of Public Works and Transportation, participated in discussions about the elements of a new omnibus procurement reform bill. Second, communication was used to rally the civil society organizations and the public, to correct the asymmetry of information that prevented these various groups to fully understand the problems in the current public procurement system and the critical need for reform. Third, communication was used to persuade the legislature that investing political capital to pass the new omnibus bill was a worthwhile endeavor.

Deliver: A well-designed and effectively orchestrated communication campaign built broad-based support for the passage of the procurement reform bill despite many twists and turns in the changing political landscape. It took almost three years, two Congresses, and two presidents to get the law passed in 2003. Its original champion, former President Joseph Estrada was himself facing impeachment on allegations of corruption and in 2001 stepped down from the Presidency. Linking government, civil society and the legislature, the communication campaign was the “glue” that held the coalitions together until the law was passed.

Drive: The communication intervention was implemented in a highly volatile political scenario, with stakeholders changing preferences and continually calculating the “costs” and “benefits” to themselves if they promoted public procurement reform. Communication campaigns had to be targeted at specific stakeholders offering messages that appealed to them. An active populace demanded answers from public officials; hence public will helped to generate political will. The bureaucracy was brought into the fold of the reformers by engaging large associations such as the Philippine Association for Government Budget Administration (PAGBA), Inc. with 3,500 members from all sectors of government, which then endorsed the bill to the legislature. The media strategy used AM radio, television, print and advertising to successfully mobilize public support for the passage of the bill.

How To Use This Book

This book is designed as transmedia material, to encourage trainers, facilitators and reform teams to use these resources and adapt these for their own purposes. The training sessions are organized according to four modules: 1) Knowing the Reform Context, which launches the concept of adaptive challenges in the context of government reform; 2) Addressing Recurring Challenges, which presents the strategic context of the Three Wills — political, public and organizational; 3) Managing Reform Politics, which examines the role of political economy in the success of governance reform efforts; and 4) Sustaining Change, which highlights the importance of building communication capacity to ensure that positive results from reform efforts are not cancelled by any counter-reform moves.

Each of the 10 sessions consists of a summary, teaching notes and process guide, application exercises, a brief write-up of communication approaches and techniques, technical briefs, additional resources; a reference reading list and multi-media learning resources, with videos, animations and interactive decision tools. Worksheets are ready-to-use. Multimedia materials can be used to spark dialogue about issues, either in informal group discussions, through formal meetings or by structured learning sessions.

Learning Outcomes

The purpose of this course is to help reform leaders, change agents, development practitioners and communication professionals deal with reform obstacles identified in the 2007 CommGap learning needs assessment through communication-based approaches and techniques.

That assessment guided the design and content of this learning program by providing information on three main issues: 1) challenges and obstacles that impede information and communication processes, 2) institutional constraints and capacity needs in supporting governance reform, and 3) the role of communication, and the value of media improvement for enhancing transparency and accountability. The survey respondents consisted of senior governance and public sector specialists from the World Bank and senior government officials from five countries in Asia and Africa.

More broadly, this training program is envisioned to address the ‘capacity gap’ which constrains most governance reform efforts. It is designed to provide a strategic focus on knowledge and skills required to address the most difficult challenges inherent in the reform process. Participants will gain a solid understanding of communication techniques and acquire profound knowledge and skill for using communication techniques and tools aimed at:

- Securing political will demonstrated by broad leadership support for change,
- Gaining the support of public sector middle managers, who are often the strongest opponents of change,
- Addressing powerful vested interests by building coalitions of pro-change influencers,
- Transforming indifferent or even hostile public opinion into support for reform,
- Instigating citizen demand for good governance and accountability.

By the end of this program, participants will

- Understand the role of communication in supporting and sustaining governance reform,
- Learn about the framework of the 3Wills: Will, Public Will, Organizational Will,
- Improve knowledge of relevant communication approaches and techniques,
- Acquire skills in various areas of communication influence, such as persuasion, negotiation, and media relations,
- Become acquainted with the range of communication expertise required to support governance-reform initiatives.

**Learning Content and Organizing Framework**

While the contribution of communication to development programs is well recognized, its specific role and impact in the governance agenda has yet to be fully explored. Results from the needs assessment as well as insights from governance practitioners and reform managers indicate a need to build a holistic, multi-disciplinary and practice-oriented approach in developing learning programs designed particularly for those in the forefront of governance-reform implementation.

Figure 1.7 shows the Organizing Framework of the course, which outlines the different modules and sessions topics (lower half of chart) and maps it alongside a summative graphic (top half of chart) *The Grounding Path of Governance Reforms*, which lays out the social and political processes relevant to each of the key governance reform challenges and the approaches and techniques that policy makers and reform managers may find useful in addressing them. This graphic was drawn from the book *Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholders, and Voice* (World Bank, 2008, one of CommGAP’s major research publications, which brings together expert contributions from development practitioners, academic scholars and technical advisors. It is an edited volume which distills knowledge and real-world experiences in unpacking key challenges that frustrate governance reform efforts and provides valuable lessons and useful approaches in confronting adversities encountered in the political landscape.

**Pedagogical Approach and Course Format**

The course has a participant-oriented focus and adheres to adult-learning principles based on a model consisting of four distinct phases:

1. *Experience* where the learning process begins … with an experience.
2. *Reflection*, to consider and process the experience presented. Figure 1.7 Organizing Framework

For full text of approaches and techniques, see Odugbemi and Jacobson (2008) Appendix section. 3. **Generalization**, which draws observations and general conclusions which take the experience into account.

4. **Application**, for using and applying the learned techniques.

Designed as an experiential learning program, this course leads participants to work with country-specific examples and case studies. Participants will examine stories of success and failure and draw lessons from real-world reform settings. Learning activities and session exercises will provide direct, hands-on application of operationally relevant approaches and tools to improve practical skills in using communication-based solutions for governance reform programs.

The Sarangaya Water Reform case simulation offers participants a way to explore issues, concepts and problems that they are likely to face in the process of advancing governance reform; while the accompanying role-play activities engages immediate practice of the core competencies in communication. These are: 1) Identifying and understanding communication challenges through political economy analysis, 2) Crafting and framing messages for key stakeholders, 3) Building coalitions to support reform objectives, engaging in productive multi-stakeholder dialogue, 4) Working with an apathetic or uninformed public, and mobilized interest groups, and 5) Sustaining reform through increased efforts in strengthening communication capacity.

Through its multi-media format, this course offers participants a winning platform of learning that is supported by a menu of resources with interactive elements, including online performance support tools, animated graphics, slide presentations, and video interviews of experts in governance and communication.

An optional feature of the course is an online follow-up program conducted to enable participant interaction with an e-learning format to encourage the productive sharing of relevant experiences, new knowledge and skills acquired in the application of tools and techniques in their respective reform environments.

### Course Overview – Sample 4-Day Program Agenda

| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | |------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------| | Registration | Session 2 | Session 3 | Session 10 | | Opening Session | Using Political Economy Analysis | Managing Conflict Activity 1 – Difficult Conversation | Sustaining Change | | Course Overview and Learning Objectives | Session 3 | Session 9 | | | Introductions, Expectations and Participant Goals | Securing Political Will | Managing Conflict Exercise 2 – Discovering Hidden Interest | | | Coffee break | Coffee break | Coffee break | Coffee break | | Participant Discussions Governance Challenges | Session 4 | Session 9 | Closing Session | | | Securing Organizational Will | Managing Conflict Exercise 3 a Negotiation Informal gathering | | Training Sessions

The ten training sessions, each dedicated to a key topic, consist of several components:

- **Session Summary** briefly describes the purpose of the session, key concepts discussed, main messages and learning outcomes.

- **The Teaching Notes and Process Guide** provides trainer instructions and key teaching points (abbreviated) for each presentation slide used in the session. Instructions to the trainer are in italics.

- **Application Exercises** outline the purpose, process and participant instructions for the structured learning activities.

- **Communication Approaches and Techniques** are distilled from CommGAP’s learning events and global dialogues

- **Technical Briefs** provide concise, abridged information on key communication concepts, methods and tools grounded in research literature

- **Suggested Reading and References** serves as a knowledge guide for the relevant literature about key topics in communication and governance, including an annotated guide and links to relevant blogs posted on the CommGAP website. This reference lists encourages in-depth understanding of the communication concepts in terms of background, historical trajectory, and empirical research. • **Multimedia learning resources** provides a list of video, online and interactive materials which can be used as learning support tools. The web resources contain URLs that link to websites that might be useful in teaching or researching a particular topic.

Each session also includes an annotated PowerPoint Presentation, with notes and talking points for the trainer. They highlight facilitation tips and guide the trainer in specific activities during the course of the session.

### Case Studies

After the training section sessions in the book, we have added a set of seven case studies featuring seven countries, with supporting tools and templates to aid trainers in processing the session material and advancing his or her knowledge about governance reform with the process and outcomes from communication-based solutions in the experience of those countries. These case studies have been culled and summarized from CommGAP’s major research publications and may be employed during the sessions and/or distributed as handouts to participants.

Companion **Facilitation Tips** and **Tools and Templates** are provided with these case studies to, in the case of the former, give guidance about strategies for successfully facilitating the training process. The Tools and Templates are ready-to-use aids for program design and implementation.

### A call to action

The course, *People Politics and Change* has been used globally and adapted for various stakeholder groups in seeking a deeper appreciation of the value of communication for governance reform. It has been delivered to African civil society organizations, with a special emphasis on the role of communication in programs promoting social accountability. It has been brought to the operational staff of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank together with members of the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability from East Asia and the Pacific, and from South Asia. It has been presented to civil society organizations and private sector parties in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Drawing heavily on this curriculum, an executive education course for strategic communication specialists was developed and delivered jointly by faculty from the Annenberg Schools of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California and the World Bank to some 40 senior communication specialists from Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Now this communication and governance content has been fully integrated into the new leadership course launched by the World Bank Institute’s (>Leadership) program offered to intact reform teams in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

There remains much territory to explore in this discipline. This book is a live document that advances the reader along the road of this discovery. We hope it will inspire reform teams, trainers and change-agents to more broadly discover these concepts, approaches, and tools and adapt them for their own specific needs, while building on them to co-create new material that can be shared with stakeholders in the field. For it is only by joining hands and minds that reform can truly hope to succeed. We hope this book will be a small contribution to this great task. We have included seven case studies in this book that should be used with the training sessions to illustrate real-world applications that illustrate country-specific experiences and practical lessons learned in using communication-based strategies and approaches and the impact in the overall reform process. Extended summaries of these briefs are included at the back of this book, which should be used as ready handouts during the sessions, and form source material for group work discussions, role play and simulation. Several of the case studies may be applied to topics in more than one Session. The full text of the case studies are available in Odugbemi, S., and Jacobson, T., (eds.) 2008, 'Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions', Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington DC. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3758

**CASE 1 BANGLADESH: “WE DIDN’T KNOW PEOPLE LIKE ME COULD ASK QUESTIONS LIKE THIS” - A DIALOGUE IN BANGLADESH**

The Bangladesh Sanglap, or dialogue demonstrates the power of issue-based public dialogue, and provides a platform for public opinion where citizens can challenge their government and raise important issues of public concern. The Sanglap model established a culture of public debate, raised public awareness of political issues, and heightened focus on direct accountability of its political leaders.

**CASE 2 GEORGIA: BUILDING SUPPORT FOR THE RULE OF LAW**

The value of opinion research is underscored by the Georgian reform experience. Initially, the public mistrust of the judiciary called for productive and frequent dialogue with its citizens, many of whom were unaware of their rights as citizens and the judiciary’s role in establishing the rule of law. Working with credible messengers is one of the key communication lessons learned from this case study. The creation of an NGO group, the Association for Legal Public education (ALPE), served as the independent voice urging the judiciary to work towards a more open and transparent system, while supporting their efforts in public outreach. CASE 3 INDIA: PUBLIC ENTERPRISE REFORM IN WEST BENGAL AND ORISSA STATES

The West Bengal and Orissa case examples offer contrasting experiences in demonstrating how two different communication strategies, though having the same single-minded focus on building political will, can influence change. In Orissa, the government reformers started by building support among elites before engaging the wider public; while in West Bengal they initiated public consultation during the formulation of policy options. Both experiences share the same profound understanding of the relationship that must exist between politics and stakeholder-driven communication to build consensus. Both approaches offer valuable lessons in undertaking communication efforts to support reform.

CASE 4 NICARAGUA: PARTICIPATION, TRANSPARENCY AND CONSENSUS BUILDING IN SUPPORT OF PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM

The Nicaraguan experience shows how a holistic approach to communication using both one-way and two-way communication techniques were used to strengthen the quality of the governance system internally, both within the government and externally among citizens in the public sphere. By adopting seven-point criteria in developing its communication strategy, intra-governmental coalition-building ensured coherence of messages and political support for transparency and participation. The clear takeaway from this case is that public interest should always have primacy over politics in terms of communication strategies to support public sector reforms. Focusing on the res publica fosters a broader definition of the concept of the state and of public administration beyond the concept of government.

CASE 5 BULGARIA: TAX REFORM AND COMMUNICATION IN BULGARIA. GETTING IT RIGHT

Reforming the tax administration in a country like Bulgaria required system-wide, sweeping changes that might easily have derailed the process at several places along the way. The Bulgarian experience illustrates how the government in a rush to reform the tax system managed the process effectively through a communication strategy focusing on both internal and external communication. Transparency and dialogue were central elements of a strategy which was made more effective with a strategic emphasis on building government communication capacity to mobilize broad-based consensus for reform.

CASE 6 RWANDA: PUBLIC SECTOR MIDDLE MANAGERS - THE CRITICAL LINK TO DRIVING PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS

The cadre of public sector managers represents a formidable force in ensuring that reforms take place. The Rwandan experience illustrates how communication and advocacy efforts are essential in building the sense of ownership and support by middle managers for change within the context of a multi-sector capacity building program. Reforms introduced to improve service delivery in the public sector hinged the support of mid-level managers and their collaborative effort as partners rather and consumers of change.

CASE 7 SLOVAKIA: PUBLIC OPINION AND REFORM

When reformers engage in open and frank dialogue with citizens, when they connect with the national mood and take public opinion seriously, then positive results will occur. The Slovakian case shows how its government built trust and credibility when they engaged early on in listening to the public. This helped to frame the reform effectively and craft a unifying message that resonated with the public. As Slovakia’s reform experience illustrates, people-centered communication processes can drive change even in the face of a difficult reform environment. Since then, Slovakia has seen a change in government leadership, but current public opinion on the reforms remains favorable. Facilitation Strategies

Research shows that quality learning programs typically have the following key attributes:

1. **Experiential** – draws from the learner’s perspective and experiences as a point of reference,
2. **Participative** – aims for a high degree of learner involvement,
3. **Interactive** – maximizes participant engagement with subject matter experts or provided learning materials,
4. **Learner-support enabled** – integrates learning support systems in the overall learning program design.

To ensure a quality learning experience during the course delivery, the list below provides useful tips and reminders for a successful facilitation process.

**During the session presentation…**

- Begin the session with a review of the learning objectives. Knowing the scope of session at the outset gives participants a broad view of expected learning outcomes.
- Ask open-ended questions to promote active participation. Some useful questions:
  - To encourage sharing of observations, “What happened during the activity? What did you observe? How did you feel about this?”
  - To guide reflection on concepts or process, “What may be relevant or true based on your experience? What did you learn in the process?”
  - To assist in drawing generalizations, “How does this relate to your own context? What does this suggest to you about the issues you are facing?”
  - To apply generalization, “How can you adopt what you just learned? What can you do differently, based on the lessons learned? How can this help in your future work?”
- Check on participants’ comprehension of the concepts. Ask participants to give examples from their own experiences or context to confirm if they have obtained a good grasp of the session’s content. • Designate a wall space or flip chart as a ‘parking lot’ for questions of specific interest to participants that can be tabled for a later discussion. Participants can post their questions on this assigned space. • Remind participants of reading assignments to be completed in preparation for an activity; for example, a case study.

**During the session exercises...**

• Review the learning objectives of the exercise and associate the activity with the context of the session. • Explain the instructions clearly, providing step-by-step procedures. If the activity involves small group discussions, ensure that the participants are clear about what they have to do before they break up into their assigned groups. Participants who are unclear about the process can slow or break the activity. When provided, display the PowerPoint slide for the exercise. In a role-play or simulation activity, participants will usually be given written instructions. • If the exercise calls for a group discussion, plan ahead to determine how the groups will be formed; for example, every third person will belong to Group 1, etc. • Distribute the handouts and other materials that may be required during the activity. • Remind participants how much time is allocated for the activity. If the activity involves a two- or three-step process, indicate the time allotted for each step. You might want to post this on a flip chart as a reminder for participants. • Ask participants to designate a timekeeper and note-taker who will present the results in plenary. • If additional help is available, assign co-facilitators to circulate among the breakout groups to answer any questions and monitor the progress of group work. • Give a five or 10 minute warning to signal the time remaining for the group activity. This will give groups the opportunity to pace themselves and ensure necessary completion of all the assigned tasks in the exercise. • In the debriefing, link the exercise to the session objectives and synthesize its application to the understanding gained from the activity.

**Learning Activities**

A learner-centered approach in building skills and competencies requires careful consideration of appropriate learning activities to optimize learning results. Various options are available for course designers and trainers interested in developing and delivering learning programs designed to support reform teams.¹

| Learning Activity | Purpose | Procedure | |-------------------|---------|-----------| | **Brainstorming** | • Generate as many new ideas as possible for group discussion\
• Encourage practical-minded individuals to think qualitatively and beyond the day-to-day\
• Solve a problem in an unconventional way\
• Develop independent and creative thinking | The facilitator explains the process objective. Participants engage in open discussion. A recorder lists the participants’ ideas before the group. Finally, the participants determine if any of the ideas have merit in solving the problem under discussion. |

¹ Source: World Bank Learning Support Group | Learning Activity | Purpose | Procedure | |-------------------|---------|-----------| | **Buzz Session** | • Develop questions for a speaker or panel\
• Explore areas in which the group would like more information or further study\
• Discover areas of special interest for future programs | This technique typically follows a lecture immediately. The facilitator assigns a question and then asks the participants what was clear or vague about the information. The facilitator asks the groups to identify one individual who will report the results of the buzz session. The facilitator hears back from each small group spokesperson and addresses any questions or concerns they have. | | **Case Study** | • Present a problem which concerns the group\
• Present and study the solution to a problem similar to one that learners will confront at work\
• Develop learners’ ability to solve work-related problems | Learners may receive materials in advance and are expected to read them before class. The facilitator introduces the topic, explains the case study and criteria for problem solving. Group members then offer their strategies and solutions to the large group. Then the group critiques the various solutions, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each. | | **Demonstration** | • Teach people to carry out a particular task or skill\
• Show a new technique or procedure\
• Convince learners that a new product or procedure has merit | The facilitator demonstrates a skill or application. A commentator may describe the demonstration or give step by step instructions. Learners try to imitate the facilitator, and then solicit feedback on his or her success from facilitator and peers. | | **Interview** | • Explore a topic in depth with an expert or resource | The facilitator assigns questions to participants following a lecture. The learners explore various aspects of the interviews and pose questions as the interview progresses. | | **Large Group Discussion** | • Elicit participants’ thoughts and feelings about a topic\
• Lead learners to sound conclusions without lecturing\
• Challenge learners to solve a problem on their own | The facilitator asks questions that generate discussion, makes sure participation is balanced and summarizes the discussion and relates it to the topic or to the next segment of training. | | Learning Activity | Purpose | Procedure | |-------------------|---------|-----------| | **Lecture** | • Present factual material in a direct and logical manner\
• Present one point-of-view on a controversial subject\
• Recount a personal experience\
• Entertain or inspire a group\
• Stimulate thinking and further study of a problem and to open it to general discussion | The lecture should be broken into 15 to 20 minute segments, followed by questions from the audience or a buzz session. A question-and-answer session led by the facilitator could follow. | | **Listening Team**| • Take notes and question the facilitator\
• Summarize key points made in a presentation\
• Clarify aspects of a presentation that may be confusing to themselves or other learners | The listening team receives instructions on its role. The large group is briefed accordingly. Team members take notes during the presentation. The listening team reports back to the large group. | | **Role Play** | • Examine a problem that mirrors a work-related situation\
• Explore possible solutions to a difficult problem\
• Provide insights to the interpersonal dynamics of a situation | The problem or situation is defined for the group before the role play begins; the facilitator sets the scene with the group’s help. Players are assigned their roles. A warm-up period may be necessary for them to shed their self-consciousness. A discussion follows the role play on what they learned. Then, if time allows, a second set of players comes up with a different scenario and the process continues. | | **Simulation** | • Explore possible solutions to a difficult and complex problem\
• Provide insights into the dynamics of a process or procedure where people are involved | • The problem or situation is defined for the group before the simulation begins.\
• For role play, players or teams must know what their roles are. Depending on the learning activity, a simulation may be as short as five to 10 minutes or extend over days and even weeks. The facilitator must keep the simulation moving.\
• Debriefing of participants is essential. | Contexts of Adult Learning

The adage, “Experience is the best teacher,” is unassailable. Adults are learning constantly, so long as they are experiencing their environments with some degree of consciousness.(^1)(^2) Irrespective of the commonplace of informal adult learning,(^3) the practice of adult education focuses on several more-or-less institutional contexts for adult learning.

**Adult Literacy and Basic Education** includes, most prominently, adult literacy instruction, but also might include teaching home financial management skills,(^4) or civics for those seeking citizenship.(^5) Considerable effort in adult basic education is also devoted to preparing learners to earn alternative secondary education credentials, such as the General Education Diploma (GED) in the U.S., for those who have dropped out of school.

Considerable controversy surrounds the choice of criteria for what counts as functional literacy.(^6) Nonetheless, detailed statistics for the U.S.(^7) and worldwide(^8) indicate heterogeneous literacy rates, but with illiteracy generally on the decline. Evidence suggests that higher literacy rates can reduce the poverty burdens in all nations, but especially in developing nations.(^9) But the universality and the intensity of the relation between literacy rates and national and individual prosperity are subject to ongoing research.(^10)

______________________________________________________________________

01. Dewey, J. (1910). *Experience and Nature*. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
02. Cell, E. (1984). *Learning how to learn from experience*. Albany: State University of New York at Albany.
03. Solomon, N., Boud, D., & Rooney, D. (2006). The in-between: Exposing everyday learning at work. *International Journal of Lifelong Education*, 25, 3–13.
04. Koenig, L. A. (2007). Financial literacy curriculum: The effect on offender financial management skills. *Journal of Correctional Education*, 58, 43–56.
05. Banks, J. (1990). Citizenship education for a pluralistic democratic society. *Social Studies*, 81, 210–215.
06. Roberts, P. (2005). A framework for analysing definitions of literacy. *Educational Studies*, 31, 29–38
07. [http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/aefacts.html](http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/aefacts.html)
08. [http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24149&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html](http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24149&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html)
09. van der Veen, R. & Preece, J. (2005). Poverty reduction and adult education: Beyond basic education. *International Journal of Lifelong Education*. 24, 381–391.
10. Saha, S. K. (1996). Literacy and development in South Asia. *Contemporary South Asia*, 5, 263–288. The need to increase participation and retention rates in adult basic and literacy education is likewise the subject of a lively body of research. Some deterrents to participation are attitudinal, but others are structural. Common deterrents include:

- Individual, family, or home-related problems, including the need for childcare
- Cost concerns
- Incompatibilities of time and/or place, including lack of transportation or interference with job hours
- Questionable worth, relevance, or quality of available educational opportunities
- Negative perceptions of the value of education in general
- Lack of motivation or indifference toward learning
- Lack of self-confidence in one's learning abilities
- A general tendency toward nonaffiliation, and inclination to isolate oneself from institutions

Workplace education is another common context for adult learning. Workplace education has traditionally been framed in terms of providing workers with skills to improve their productivity or for retooling them when old work assignments become obsolete. Research on program needs and efficacy is conducted at worksites such as factories where workers need updated skills and in the armed forces, where recruits require training in military protocols and technology. A topic of keen interest within workplace education pertains to the notion of situated cognition, the degree to which knowledge and learning is inextricably linked to the particular context in which that knowledge is used. Thus learning to program a production line robot is intimately embedded in the culture of the factory floor.

In organizational training and development, the focus is on providing a range of management and communication skills needed by leaders and supervisors to enable effective decision-making and information flow in complex organizations. Typical topics in such training are leadership, stress management, time management, mentoring, and running effective meetings. One topic that has been the object of considerable research is transfer, that is, the degree to which learning in training classrooms and simulations actually impacts behavior on the job. Another issue of interest is return on investment (ROI) for training programs, especially since the training unit within a human resources department is often regarded as the least essential and most vulnerable unit in an organization.

11 Alan, O. B. (2000). Retaining adult learners in the first three critical weeks: A quasi-experimental model for use in ABE programs. Adult Basic Education, 10, 55–69. 12 Scanlan, C. (1986). Deterrents to participation: An adult education dilemma. (ERIC Information Series No. 308). Columbus, OH: The ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, The National Center for Research in Vocational Education, The Ohio State University. 13 Fenwick, T. J. (2000). Putting meaning into workplace learning. In A.L. Wilson and E.R. Hayes (Eds.), Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education, 294–311. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 14 Rose, A. D., Jeris, L., & Smith, R. (2005). Identity and practice at steel mill learning centers. Harvard Education Review, 107, 1305–1334. 15 Kime, S. F., & Anderson, C. L. (2000). Contributions of the military to adult and continuing education. In A.L. Wilson and E.R. Hayes (Eds.), Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education, 464–479. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 16 Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18:1, 32–42. 17 Laird, D. (2003). Approaches to training and development, 3rd ed. New York: Basic Books. 18 Yannil, S., & McLean, G. N. (2001). Theories supporting transfer of training. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 12, 195–208. 19 Rowden, R. W. (2001). Exploring methods to evaluate the return on investment from training. American Business Review, 19, 6–13. Adults often undertake learning projects, not so much for any instrumental purpose or because of economic motives, but for self-actualization. Of course work-related learning or acquisition of basic skills need not be divorced from self-actualization; indeed, the most potent motivation for adult learning may be a combination of the desire for self-actualization with other more practical factors. The Elderhostel movement and the Chautauqua movement are but two examples of contexts for voluntary adult learning.

**Andragogy**

No doubt there are commonalities among learning processes across the life span, but as a result of developmental processes, experiential factors, and life circumstances, adult learning is in some respects qualitatively different from learning at any other stage of life. The concept of andragogy, originated by Malcolm Knowles, captures the uniqueness of adult education and learning. Certainly the concept of andragogy is not without controversy. Authors debate about whether andragogy is an explanatory theory, a philosophy of teaching and learning, or a set of prescriptive techniques. Other critics charge that the andragogy perspective fails to sufficiently take into account the social, economic, and political realities that constrain adult learners.

Yet the andragogy perspective wields a powerful influence on research about adult learning. The andragogy perspective is founded on five assumptions about adult learners.

- Adult learners are self-directed.
- Adult learners have acquired a wealth of experience upon which new learning can be based.
- Readiness to learn for adults is a function of need that arises from changing life circumstances.
- Adult learning is highly practical. Adults come to learning in order to perform a task, solve a problem, or achieve higher satisfaction in life.
- Adults are motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors.

**Seven features of andragogical process design** for instruction follow from those assumptions about learners.

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20 Jutras, P. J. (2006). The benefits of adult piano study as self-reported by selected adult piano students. *Journal of Research in Music Education, 54*, 97–110. 21 Fetzer, S. J. (2003). Professionalism of associate degree nurses: The role of self-actualization. *Nursing Education Perspectives, 24*, 139–144. 22 Arsenault, N., Anderson, G., & Swedburg, R. (1998). Understanding older adults in education: Decision-making and Elderhostel. *Educational Gerontology, 24*. 23 Scott, J. C. (2005) The Chautauqua vision of liberal education. *History of Education, 34*, 41–59. 24 Houle, C. O. *The design of education*, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 25 Tennant, M. (1997). *Psychology and adult learning*. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. 26 Knowles, M. S. and Associates. (1984). *Andragogy in action*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 27 Elias, J. L. (1979). Andragogy revisited. *Adult Education, 29*, 252–255. 28 Pratt, D. D. (1993). Andragogy after twenty-five years. In S.B. Merriam (Ed.), *Update on adult learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 57*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 29 Grace, A. P. (1996). Taking a critical pose: Andragogy-Missing links, missing values. *International Journal of Lifelong Education, 15*, 382–392. 30 Knowles, M. S. and Associates. (1984). *Andragogy in action*, 9-12. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 31 Ibid, 15–18. • An optimal climate for adult learning eschews typical classroom layouts that favor one-way transmission. The optimal climate fosters mutual respect, collaboration, trust, supportiveness, openness, authenticity, pleasure, and “humanness.” • Adult learners are involved in program planning. • Adult learners diagnose their own educational needs. • Adult learners formulate their own learning objectives. • Adult learners formulate their own learning plans to meet those objectives. • Tools, most prominently learning contracts, are needed to help learners carry out their learning plans. • Adult learners are involved in evaluating their own learning.

The concept of self-directed learning, key to andragogy, is the subject of considerable theory and research. The Staged Self-Directed Learning Model is perhaps the most prominent explication of the role of self-directed learning in education. It describes four learner stages and the concomitant teacher stances that function at each of those levels.

1. Student is a dependent learner; teacher serves as authority or as coach.
2. Student is an interested learner; teacher serves as motivator and guide.
3. Student is an involved learner; teacher serves as a facilitator.
4. Student is a self-directed learner; teachers serve as a consultant or delegator.

**Adult Learning Styles**

Learning style—the varying ways in which people acquire, process, and retain information—is most often regarded as an individual difference variable, rather like personality. Therefore much research and theory about learning styles is treated as generalizable across ages. Thus, for example, Howard Gardner’s taxonomy of multiple intelligences is frequently applied in adult education and training as well as in elementary and secondary education. The taxonomy includes seven types of intelligences, different configurations of which (they are interdependent, not independent) dominate in different learners:

1. Linguistic intelligence
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence
3. Musical intelligence
4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
5. Spatial intelligence
6. Interpersonal intelligence
7. Intrapersonal intelligence, or self-awareness

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32 Garrison, D. R. (1997). Self-directed learning: Toward a comprehensive model. *Adult Education Quarterly, 48*, 18–33. 33 Grow, Gerald. (1991). Teaching learners to be self-directed. *Adult Education Quarterly, 41*, 125–149. 34 Gardner, Howard (1993) *Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences*, 2nd ed. New York: Basic Books. 35 Kallenbach, S., & Viens, J. (2004). Open to interpretation: Multiple intelligences theory in adult literacy education. *Teachers College Record, 106*, 58–66. Another common learning style taxonomy that is profitably applied to adult learning as well as to childhood education is the Dunn and Dunn model. It attempts to integrate findings from five domains.

1. Environmental preferences: degree of quiet, amount of light, temperature, seating preferences
2. Emotional factors: persistence, responsibility
3. Sociological preferences: learning alone or with peers
4. Physiological factors: perceptual strengths, time of day
5. Psychological processing style: global vs. analytic, impulsive vs. reflective

Although many elements of learning style may indeed be personality traits that are common across ages, effects of physiological changes in the brain and of experience and of life circumstances also render certain elements of learning style unique to adults. Kolb’s Learning Style Model is intended to be adult-specific in that it accords a key role to accumulated experience as well as to mature development toward an integrated and relativistic sense of self. The model and its associated learning style measurement tool has been adopted in a host of research studies. Kolb’s model postulates a learning cycle (i.e., a nonlinear view of learning) that includes four processes (feeling, watching, thinking, doing) and preferences for one or another of these processes define four categories of learning styles.

1. Divergers favor concrete experience and reflective observation.
2. Assimilators favor reflective observation and abstract conceptualization.
3. Convergers favor abstract conceptualization and active experimentation.
4. Accommodators favor active experimentation and concrete experience.

A great many other models and instruments for understanding adult learning styles are available. For example, some researchers treat the ubiquitous Myers-Briggs types, usually regarded as a personality typology, as a surrogate for an index of learning styles preference.

Transformative Learning

Many adult educators and researchers have chafed against paradigms of adult learning that they felt to be unduly oriented toward economic productivity, or which failed to give sufficient attention to sociopolitical

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36 Honigsfeld, A., & Dunn, R. (2006). Learning style characteristics of adult learners. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 72:2, 14–17, 31. 37 Dunn, K., & Dunn, R. Dispelling Outmoded Beliefs about Student Learning. Educational Leadership, 44:6, 55–62. 38 Hill, L. H. (2001). The brain and consciousness: Sources for information for understanding adult learning. In S.B. Merriam (Ed.), New update on adult learning theories. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. 39 Kolb, D. A. (1984), Experiential learning: Experience as a source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 40 Willcoxson, L., & Prosser, M. (1996), Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (1985): Review and further study of validity and reliability, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 66, 251–61. 41 Hall, E., & Moseley, J. (2005). Is there a role for learning Styles in personalised education and training? International Journal of Lifelong Education, 24, 243–255. 42 Mupinga, D. M., Nora, R. T., & Yaw, D. C. The learning styles, expectations, and needs of online students. College Teaching, 54, 185–189. 43 Filbeck, G., & Webb, S. (2000). Executive MBA education: Using learning styles for successful teaching strategies. Financial Practice and Education, 10, 205–215. issues of individual and group emancipation. Much theory and practice in this vein draws upon the work of Brazilian literacy educator Paulo Freire. Freire popularized the notion of critical pedagogy, pointing out that education is never a politically neutral process of merely “banking” knowledge in the minds of learners. Oppressed people, according to Freire, are enmeshed in a “culture of silence.” They can achieve “conscientization,” however, through dialogue and co-learning with their teachers. Through studying the language of power and by other means, learners can eventually achieve awareness of the systems of power in their society.

Learner reflection is central to critical pedagogy. While reflective learning can mean many things, it is often linked to the notion of a reflective practitioner. A reflective practitioner is one who experiences awe, surprise, and curiosity about her experiences, rather than simply focusing on technique. One common method for enhancing reflectivity among learners is the use of learning portfolios, which often explicitly require a reflective essay.

The goal of critical consciousness and reflection is to help learners not merely accumulate quantities of information, but rather to help learners transform themselves. A considerable body of research pertains to transformational processes in adult education. A leading thinker on this topic is Mezirow, who sees adult learning as an opportunity to challenge three kinds of distortions that may have accrued in earlier education:

1. Epistemic distortions about the nature and use of knowledge
2. Sociocultural distortions about power and social relations
3. Psychological distortions that lead to fear and anxiety in the individual

Mezirow’s theory posits that these distortions can be overcome through a process of perspective transformation. Perspective transformation, which is regarded as the central task of adult learning, consists of a ten-stage sequence that should be considered a dynamic process rather than a rote prescription that can be taught.

1. Experiencing a dilemma that upsets one’s sense of order
2. Self examination
3. Critical assessment of one’s role assumptions and resulting sense of alienation from the status quo
4. Sharing one’s discontent with a group or community of interest

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44 Tisdell, E. J. (1998). Poststructuralist feminist pedagogies: The possibilities and limitations of a feminist emancipatory adult learning theory and practice. Adult Education Quarterly, 48, 139–156. 45 Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. NY: Continuum Publishing. 46 Shor, I. (1992). Empowering education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 47 Brookfield, S. D. (2000). The concept of critically reflective practice. In A.L. Wilson and E.R. Hayes (Eds.), Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education, 33–49. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 48 Schon, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 49 Hurst, B., Wilson C., & Cramer, G. (1998). Professional teaching portfolios. Phi Delta Kappan, 79:8, 578–82. 50 Stansberry, S. L., & Kymes, A. D. (2007) Transformative learning through “Teaching With Technology” electronic portfolios. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 50, 488–496. 51 Taylor, E. (1997). Building upon the theoretical debate: A critical review of the empirical studies of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory. Adult Education Quarterly, 48, 34–59. 52 Baumgartner, L. M. (2001). An Update on Transformational Learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 15–25. 53 Mezirow, J. and Associates (1991). Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A Guide to transformative and emancipatory learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 54 Mezirow, J. (1995). Transformation theory of adult learning. In M.R. Welton (Ed.), In defense of the lifeworld, 39–70. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. 5. Exploring options for new roles and actions 6. Planning a program for personal change 7. Acquiring knowledge needed to implement change 8. Experimenting and testing new roles and behaviors 9. Gaining confidence and competence in those new roles and actions 10. Reintegrating into society on new terms of one’s own choosing

**Technology and Adult Education**

Information and communication technology (ICT) enjoys an ever-expanding role in education and training in diverse settings. The seeming constant presence of ICT in instruction—including not only computer- and Internet-assisted learning but now also the use of video games and mobile telephones—is belied, however, by the phenomenon known as the digital divide. The digital divide betokens differential access to ICT. While the digital divide is usually defined in terms of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, or nationality, age is also a factor. Adults typically have less access and require more support in technology use than do younger users. When age is combined with minority status, low income, and low literacy, adult utilization of the Internet plummets. Bridging the digital divide for adult learners is not merely a matter of making computers physically accessible (though accessibility is important). Even when community technology centers put computer access within physical reach of adult learners, many individuals are deterred because they fail to see the relevance of ICT to their lives, because they harbor anxieties about learning technology, or because their self-concepts are incompatible with computer usage.

Knowledge workers are edging out production and service workers as the mainspring of the industrialized nations’ workforces. For that reason, and because so many adult learners lack computer literacy, and because the rate of change in the ICT knowledge-base is so rapid even for those who are competent knowledge workers, an important component of adult education is technology as curriculum. That is, many adult learners are immersed in acquiring information technology skills.

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55 Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J. (Eds.) (2006). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology, 2nd ed. London: Pearson. 56 2006 Innovators (2006, December). *T.H.E. Journal*, 33:17, 14–27. 57 Clark, C., & Gorski, P. (2001). Multicultural education and the digital divide: Focus on race, language, socioeconomic class, sex, and disability. *Multicultural Perspectives*, 3:3, 39–44. 58 Lam, J. C. Y., & Lee, M. K. O. (2006). Digital inclusiveness: Longitudinal study of Internet adoption by older adults. *Journal of Management Information Systems*, 22, 177–206. 59 Norris, D. T., & Conceição, S. (2004). Narrowing the digital divide in low-income, urban communities. *New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education*, 101, 69–81. 60 Stanley, L. D. (2003). Psychosocial barriers to computer literacy. *Information Society*, 19, 407–507. 61 Gordon, E. E. (1997). The new knowledge worker. *Adult Learning*, 8:4, 14–17. 62 Kasworm, C. & Londoner, C. (2000). Adult learning and technology. In B. Hayes and A. Wilson (Eds.), *Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education*, 224–241. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Recent research suggests that there is often a disjuncture between technology training curricula that intend to impart competence in some linear fashion and the nonlinear methods that many technology end users actually employ to achieve capability. That is, individuals who are experienced and self-efficacious learners of technology often experiment, play, learn from their failures, try out alternative paths, and thereby become capable of working with a wide variety of hardware and software. Successful technology users often learn a piece of software just a bit at a time, on a need-to-know basis. And they often consult with other similarly struggling peers or with mentors to share short cuts and efficiencies they have discovered. Typical computer and technology training programs, to the contrary, are most often linear and directive.

Complementing questions of technology as curriculum are issues relating to technology as a delivery system for instruction. In fact, continuing adult education has long relied on technology—radio and television classes, and films—to efficiently reach large numbers of learners as well as to reach geographically isolated learners. Currently, technology-mediated adult learning situations range from highly specialized one-time teleconferences originating at distal sites to use of computer-assisted learning modules available on demand in adult basic education and literacy classrooms. Head-to-head comparisons of learning outcomes and learner attitudes comparing technology-mediated distance education and traditional classroom instruction famously result in either very small or zero advantage for one format over the other. One factor contributing to the lack of clear findings in this body of research may be poor experimental methods. Another explanation may be that distance education is very effective for some students—those with high autonomy and internal locus of control, for example—but not for others. A recent trend is toward hybrid classes. Some are traditional face-to-face classes that incorporate periodic asynchronous email conferences, or synchronous chat-room meetings, or online collaborations; some are distance classes that incorporate occasional on-site whole group meetings.

The trend toward hybrid classes highlights the finding that even the most technologically mediated, self-directed learning is enhanced by peer input and collaboration. Thus, the formation of online learning communities has engendered a great deal of research interest. Technological tools for maintaining online communities include:

63 Phelps, R., Hase, S., & Ellis, A. (2005). Find more like this competency, capability, complexity and computers: Exploring a new model for conceptualising end-user computer education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36, 67–84. 64 Kasworm, C. & Londoner, C. (2000). Adult Learning and Technology. In B. Hayes and A. Wilson (Eds.), Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education, 227. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 65 Moore, M. G. (2003). From Chautauqua to virtual university: A century of distance education in the United States. Information Series 393. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Center on Education and Training for Employment. 66 Harris, S. B., Leiter, L. A., Webster-Bogaert, S., Van, D.M., & O’neill, C. (2005). Teleconferenced educational detailing: Diabetes education for primary care physicians. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 25:2, 87–97. 67 Berger, J. I. (2001). Effectiveness of computers in ALBE classrooms: An analytic review of the literature. Adult Basic Education, 11, 162–183. 68 Lou, Y., Bernard, R., & Abrami, P. (2006). Media and pedagogy in undergraduate distance education: A theory-based meta-analysis of empirical literature. Educational Technology Research & Development, 54, 141–176. 69 Allen, M., Bourhis, J., Burrell, N., & Mabry, E. (2002). Comparing student satisfaction with distance education to traditional classrooms in higher education: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Distance Education, 16:2, 83–98. 70 Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Yiping, L., & Borokhovski, E. (2004). A methodological morass? How we can improve quantitative research in distance education. Distance Education, 25:2, 175–198. 71 Eastmond, D. (1995). Alone but together: Adult distance education though computer conferencing. Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press. 72 DeNeui, D. L., & Dodge, T. L. (2006). Asynchronous learning networks and student outcomes: The utility of online learning components in hybrid courses. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 33:4, 256–259. 73 Salmon, G. (2000). Emoderating: The key to teaching and learning online. London: Kogan-Page. 74 Brook, C., & Oliver, R. (2003). Online learning communities: Investigating a design framework. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19, 139–160. 75 Kaplan, S. (2002). Building communities: Strategies for collaborative learning. [Accessed June 22, 2007 at http://www.icohere.com/CollaborativeLearning.htm.] • Synchronous tools such as chat rooms or instant messaging • Asynchronous tools such as discussion boards or email lists • Content integration tools such as blogs or courseware • Document management tools such as collaborative writing environments with version tracking

But the tools themselves are only a minor part of what it takes to build an online learning community. One model for **online co-construction of knowledge** postulates five sequenced steps which must be undertaken collaboratively:76

1. Sharing and comparing information among members of the learning community
2. Unearthing dissonance or inconsistency among ideas
3. Negotiating meaning among community members
4. Testing and modification of a co-constructed conclusion or finding
5. Agreement statements and the application of newly constructed meaning

Finally, the **social dimension** of online learning communities has been found to contribute to learning outcomes as well as to affective outcomes.77 A review of literature identifies the following techniques for fostering that social dimension among adult online learners:78

• Welcome members individually to the learning community • Whenever members post, acknowledge their contributions • Establish member profiles to which everyone can refer • Establish a unique and positive identity for the community • Set guidelines for communication, e.g., limitations on topics, length of posting, or managing conflict • Allow participants to adopt roles with which they are comfortable • Develop a common symbol system including in-group jargon, acronyms, and the like • Develop and encourage rituals that reinforce community coherence • Cultivate a social dimension in addition to the task dimension of interaction

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76 Gunawardena, C. N., Lowe, C. A. & Anderson, T. (1997). Analysis of a global online debate and the development of an interaction analysis model for examining social construction of knowledge in computer conferencing. *Journal of Educational Computing Research, 17*, 397–431.

77 Xiaojing L., Magjuka, R., Bonk, C. J., & Seung-hee L. (2007). Does sense of community matter? *Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 8*, 9–24.

78 Brook, C., & Oliver, R. (2003). Online learning communities: Investigating a design framework. *Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19*, 139–160. This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about adult learning. Each section of the resource guide corresponds with a section of the Adult learning Participant Guide and contains two sections: additional textual resources, and useful web and media resources. The additional textual resources section provides references that offer a more in-depth understanding of the concepts. The useful web and media resources section contains the URLs to websites that might be useful in teaching or researching the topic, as well as films and videos that can be used in training workshops.

The Contexts of Adult Learning

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Baldwin, J. I., & Ford, J. K. (1988). Transfer of training: A review and directions for future research. Personnel Psychology, 41, 63–105.

- Beder, H., & Medina, P. (2001). Classroom Dynamics in Adult Literacy Education. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.

- Caffarella, R., & Merriam, S. B. (2000). Linking the individual learner to the context of adult education. In A. L. Wilson and E. R. Hayes (Eds.), Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education (pp. 55–70). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

- Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. NY: Cambridge University Press.

- Merriam, S. B., & Simpson, E. L. (2000). A guide to research for educators and trainers of adults (2nd ed.). Malabar, FL: Krieger.

- Nevis, E. C., Bella, A. J., & Gould, J. M. (1996). Understanding organizations as learning systems. Sloan Management Review, 36:2, 73–85.

- Pernick, R. (2001). Creating a leadership development program: Nine essential tasks. Public Personnel Management, 30, 429–445.

- Quigley, B. A. (1997). Rethinking Literacy Education: The Critical Need for Practice-Based Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

- Solars, E., & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (2001). The science of training: A decade of progress. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 471–499. USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES

- http://www.ala.org/ala/olos/outreachresource/servicesnewnonreaders.htm — The American Library Association Office for Outreach and Adult Literacy offers guidelines for developing and assessing adult literacy programs.

- www.astd.org — The American Society for Training and Development is the largest organization or workplace education professionals. Its website offers white papers, practice tips, and numerous links.

- http://www.geocities.com/workplace_education/ — A collection of resources and research articles on workplace education.

- http://www.managementhelp.org/aboutfml/what-it-is.htm — The Free Management Library is a compilation of hundreds of articles and links that focus especially on employee training.

- http://www.ncsall.net/ — The National Center for Adult Learning and Literacy hosts the online journal, Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, as well as portals to a variety of other online resources.

- http://www.nifl.gov/ — The National Institute for Literacy provides a portal to statistics and programs regarding adult literacy in the U.S.

Andragogy

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Confessore, S. J., & Kops, W. J. (1998). Self-directed learning and the learning organization: Examining the connection between the individual and the learning environment. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 9, 365–375.
- Merriam, S. B. (2001). Andragogy and self-directed learning: Pillars of adult learning theory. In S.B. Merriam (Ed.), The new update on adult learning theory (New directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No 65). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Ozuah, P. O., Curtis, J., & Stein, R. E. K. (2001). Impact of problem-based learning on residents’ self-directed learning. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.155, 669–672.
- Roberson Jr., D. R., & Merriam, S. B. (2005). The self-directed learning process of older rural adults. Adult Education Quarterly, 55, 269–287.
- Savicevic, D. M. (1991). Modern conceptions of andragogy: A European framework. Studies in the Education of Adults, 23, 197–201.
- Vooglaad, Y., & Marja, T. (1992). Andragogical problems of building a democratic society. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 11, 321–328.

USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES

- http://www.columbia.edu/itc/tc/parker/adlearnville/library.html — Part of an adult learning community website, this page links to streaming video interviews with Malcolm Knowles and another with Sharon Merriam.
- http://www-distance.syr.edu/sdlhome.html — Website associated with the International Self-Directed Learning Symposium.
- http://www.gwvirginia.gwu.edu/library/guides/hrd_elp/adult_learning_websites.htm — Links to a number of annotated bibliographies on andragogy. • http://www.umsl.edu/~henschke/ —Andragogy website maintained at University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Adult Learning Styles

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

• Dunn, R. S., & Dunn, K. J. (1998). The complete guide to the Learning Styles Inservice System. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. • Mainemelis, C., Boyatzis, R., & Kolb, D. A. (2002), Learning styles and adaptive flexibility: testing the experiential theory of development, Management Learning, 33, 5–53. • Russell, S.S. (2006). An overview of adult-learning processes. Urologic Nursing, 26, 349–370. • Van Wynen, E.A (2001) A key to successful aging: learning-style patterns of older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 27, 6–15. • Viens, J., & Kallenbach, S. (2004). Multiple intelligences and adult literacy: A sourcebook for practitioners. NY: teachers College Press.

USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES

• http://agelesslearner.com/intros/lstyleintro.html —This page from the Ageless Learner web site links to a variety of formal and informal learning style inventories. • http://learningstyles.net/ —International Learning Styles Network offers free membership and links to scholarly and applied resources. • http://vark-learn.com/english/index.asp —An online learning styles assessment tool that reveals verbal, visual, auditory, or kinesthetic dominance. • http://www.emtech.net/learning_theories.htm —This learning theories website offers summaries of major thinking about the nature of knowledge and learning, and links to a great many articles and essays regarding each theory.

Transformative Learning

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

• Brookfield, S.D. (2004). The power of critical theory: Liberating adult learning and teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Brown, K.M. (2004). Leadership for social justice and equity: Evaluating a transformative framework and andragogy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 5, 700–745. • Collard, S., & law, M. (1989). The limits of perspective transformation: A critique of Mezirow’s theory. Adult Education Quarterly, 39, 99–107. • Cranton, P., & Carusetta, E. (2004). Developing authenticity as a transformative process. *Journal of Transformative Education, 2*, 276–293.

• DasGupta, S., Fornari, A., Geer, K., Hahn, L., Kumar, V., Lee, H., Rubin, S., & Gold, M. (2006). Medical education for social justice: Paulo Freire revisited. *Journal of Medical Humanities, 27*, 245–251.

• Mayo, P. (1999). *Gramsci, Freire and adult education: Possibilities for transformative action*. London: Zed Books.

• Purcell-Gates, V., & Waterman, R.A. (2000). *Now we read, we see, we speak: A portrait of literacy development in an adult Freirian-based class*. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

• Shor, I, & Freire, P. (1987). *A pedagogy for liberation: Dialogues on transforming education*. Boston: Bergin & Garvey.

• Usher, R., Bryant, I., & Johnston, R. *Adult education and the postmodern challenge: Learning beyond the limits*. New York: Routledge.

**USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES**

• [http://www.paulofreireinstitute.org/](http://www.paulofreireinstitute.org/) —The Paulo Freire Institute at UCLA offers an online research journal.

• [http://www.podcastforteachers.org/atl/](http://www.podcastforteachers.org/atl/) —“Adventures in Transformative Learning” is a series of podcasts and other resources for adult educators.

• [http://www.thepeaceprojectonline.org/documentary](http://www.thepeaceprojectonline.org/documentary) —Short documentary film produced by high school students regarding Paulo Freire.

• “Second Chance: Making it Work” (2004), Good People 2 Know Marketing and Entertainment Corp — This film documents the lives of women who have undergone dramatic transformations in the face of challenges.

**Technology and Adult Learning**

**ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES**

• Berger, J. I. (2005). Perceived consequences of adopting the Internet into adult literacy and basic education classrooms. *Adult Basic Education, 15*, 103–121.

• Cahoon, B. (Ed.) (1998). *Adult learning and the Internet* (New directions for Adult and Continuing Education, no. 78). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Chandrasekhar, C. P., & Ghosh, J. (2001). Information and communication technologies and health in low income countries: The potential and the constraints. *Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 79*, 850–856.

• Dawson, C. (2004). *Learning how to study again: A practical guide to study skills for mature students returning to education or distance learning*. NY: Oxford University Press.

• Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (1999). *Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace*. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Publishers.

• Venter, K. (2003). Coping with isolation: the role of culture in adult distance learners’ use of surrogates. *Open Learning, 18*, 271–287. • Vonderwell, S., Xin, L., & Alderman, K. (2007). Asynchronous discussions and assessment in online learning. *Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39*, 309–328.

**USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES**

• [http://alri.org/harness.html](http://alri.org/harness.html) —Harnessing Technology to Serve Adult Literacy provides numerous links to research and practice in areas such as math, science, home repair, and civics. It also includes software reviews and links to online tools.

• [http://www.educause.edu/](http://www.educause.edu/) —Educause is an organization that promotes effective use of technology in higher education. Its website links to various online resources and communities.

• [http://www.health.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/healthcast/hspvideo/keynote2.wmv/view/](http://www.health.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/healthcast/hspvideo/keynote2.wmv/view/) —Streaming video presentation entitled “Learning to Use Technology/Using Technology to Learn” in health professions education.

• [http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm](http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm) —MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) certifies quality for public domain learning software and promotes related research and development.

• [http://www.learningcircuits.org/](http://www.learningcircuits.org/) —Sponsored by the American Society for Training and Development, Learning Circuits hosts discussions and research resources and instructional technology for training professional. Knowing the Reform Context

This module introduces the concept of adaptive challenges in governance reform, and deliberates on the effective use of communication influence mechanisms. Shaping stakeholders’ opinions, attitudes, and behavior change is critical for achieving sustainable governance. And adaptive challenges, while intrinsic to complex political environments, may also be amenable to communication-based solutions. An operationally relevant political economy analysis is shown as a way to unravel persistent problems and key vulnerabilities in the change environment. An in-depth understanding of the “What,” the Why,” and the “How” of reform is critical to mounting effective interventions for addressing difficult obstacles in the reform process. The opening session provides an overview of ‘how and why’ communication matters in governance reform. We introduce a broad scope of communication’s contribution to governance from two levels—communication structures, through which government communicates and engages in dialogue with citizens; and communication processes, which influence opinions, attitudes and behavior change among key stakeholders who are critical to the reform process.

**Key Concepts and Messages**

- Adaptive challenges are amenable to communication-based solutions.
- Successful and sustainable reform requires addressing both technical and adaptive challenges.
- Public opinion, a product of the public sphere, is a critical force in mobilizing multi-stakeholder support for governance reform.
- Seize every opportunity to improve the public sphere where ever you are.

**Learning Outcomes**

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

- Draw the distinction between adaptive challenges and technical problems in governance reform,
- Apply an adaptive approach in their specific reform experiences using the framework of addressing challenges of political will, organization will and public will,
- Explore communication-influence strategies (both supply- and demand-side) that are relevant in their reform contexts
- Explain the importance of the democratic public sphere and public opinion in building broad support for reform. **Exercise:** Small Group Discussion: Addressing Adaptive Challenges\
  **Session Length:** 90 minutes

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### Teaching Notes and Process Guide

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|--------------------------------------|

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*Two active buttons here, side by side:*\
Play Slideshow\
Download Presentation File

*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* ADDRESSING ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES

Small Group Discussion

TIME ALLOTTED: 40 MINUTES

PURPOSE To identify communication challenges and draw lessons from the utilized communication-based solutions. Three case examples, of governance-reform initiatives in Bulgaria, India and China are provided in the handouts.

PROCESS

1. Ask participants to break into small groups of four to five people.
2. Distribute the handouts.
3. Each group will be given 20 minutes to discuss and share their experiences based on guide questions provided below. Groups should select a facilitator who will moderate and report back the group’s discussion in plenary.
4. Each group will present a two-minute summary of their discussions by presenting a brief overview of the case and its answers to the discussion questions.
5. Once all groups have completed their individual presentations, the facilitator will lead a 10-minute recap in plenary to summarize common findings across the examples, and draw broad conclusions or lessons from the diverse set of case experiences.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Based on your reading of the case examples, please answer the following questions:

- What adaptive challenges were encountered—securing political will, organization will or public will?
- What technical challenges had to be addressed, if any?
- What were the communication solutions used here? Orissa is one of India’s poorer states. It is located on the east coast just south of West Bengal and north of Andhra Pradesh. On the eve of the new millennium, the state government’s financial woes and the condition of its public enterprises were sources of great concern. The new chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, inherited a political machine that lacked discipline. Even among Orissa state legislators and many senior civil servants, there was neither an appreciation of the size and scope of the public enterprise problem nor the resolve to confront it. Yet the new chief minister, together with a small group of senior civil servants, championed needed reforms, took the debate to the people, and built a statewide consensus.

Orissa published white papers on state finances in 1999 and 2001, which admitted that government’s indiscriminate borrowing had not yielded expected results in terms of development, growth, and poverty alleviation. Instead, the state was in a debt trap and at a crisis point. The papers called for immediate and drastic steps to turn the fiscal situation around and proposed public debate on the issue. The need for enterprise reform, part of a much broader government drive toward solvency, began to resonate inside and outside government. One Indian economist commented: “The fact that Naveen Patnaik is among the few chief ministers to be returned to power after a state election is a testament to the fact that the people supported the tough approach taken by his government in its previous tenure”. That success was, first and foremost, the result of competent communication.

–Masty (2008), Governance Reform… Bulgaria: Tax Reform

The Bulgarian government decided to unify and modernize its tax collection facilities by combining the revenue-collection function (NSSI) and the General Tax Directorate (GTD) into a new, single tax authority: the National Revenue Agency (NRA). The need for change was enormous. Bulgaria’s tax system deterred foreign investors and citizen-taxpayers alike.

Initially, technocratic and bureaucratic reluctance to internal and external communication was high. To address this challenge, the NRA devised an internal communication strategy. In a span of three months, the NRA held 25 half-day meetings, each with 100 to 300 participants from NSSI and GTD. All local agency employees were invited to the meetings. Senior NRA officials, together with participants from the two merging agencies, made presentations summarizing public opinion survey data on attitudes about taxes, discussed the need for enhanced revenue collection, and sketched out how the government planned to unite the two agencies. Time was also spent discussing opportunities for career advancement and benefits for the small number of employees who would lose their jobs in the merger. New procedures for answering employee questions via the newly created NRA Intranet were also announced. Follow-up letters were sent to all 8,000 employees of both agencies, recapping information disseminated during the meetings, highlighting issues raised by employees, and restating the intranet system through which queries would be answered. Internal transparency and dialogue have been credited for building support among the people on whom rigorous and unfamiliar demands would soon be placed.

–CommGAP (2008), Governance Reform . . . In Zeguo township, Wenling City, about 300 km south of Shanghai, citizen deliberation was used to help select 10 infrastructure projects from a list of 30 possible options. For local officials, the deliberative method used—Deliberative Polls, developed at Stanford University—offered a transparent, balanced, and representative way to provide public input into the decision-making process. Like many other municipalities, they had previously held Kentan, or “heart to heart,” discussion meetings as a form of local consultation. But these open meetings were dominated by the intensely interested, the self-selected, and the local notables, and they lacked a decision process. The Deliberative Poll, which draws on a random sample of the population, added to perceptions of transparency and legitimacy. As local party leader Jiang Zhaugua observed, “I gave up some power and found that I had more.”

During the Deliberative Polls, all the possible infrastructure projects were represented by experts on panels, and the briefing materials, which provided the agenda for discussion, had arguments for and against each project. When the resulting preferred projects were classified in terms of their contribution to the entire city rather than just one village or another, there was a clear pattern of increasing support for projects of wider collective benefit. In addition, the results have actually been implemented; the public’s preference for sewage treatment plants rather than for more highways and for a people’s park for recreation rather than for a fancy town square have changed the city’s priorities of development.

—Fishkin et al. (2008), Govenance Reform . . . According to the World Bank’s 2007 Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) Strategy,1 “a large body of research shows that in the longer term good governance is associated with robust growth, lower income inequality, child mortality, and illiteracy; improved country competitiveness and investment climate; and greater resilience of the financial sector. Research also indicates that aid projects are more likely to succeed in well-governed environments.”

Improving governance requires effective and sustainable public sector reform efforts. Empirical evidence suggests that skillful implementation of communication activities can play a critical role in translating reform objectives to actual results on the ground. One of the most frequently cited examples in this regard is the way in which newspaper publication of the education budget in Uganda was associated with a strong and significant reduction of corruption. Capture of non-wage funds decreased from 80% to 20% in a span of five years.2 Applied research has also found that communication mechanisms can lead to improved governance through citizen engagement initiatives in different types of political systems. As will be illustrated later, not only does informed citizen deliberation on specific policy issues enhance the public-spiritedness of citizens in the developed world, but also in developing countries such as in Benin and China. While proponents of the role of communication in development have repeatedly drawn upon these and similar examples to describe why communication matters, not enough has been done in the policy and practice domains to explain how communication makes a difference. Returning to the Uganda example above, how is it that newspaper publication of budget data made a difference in the level of corruption? Knowing that teachers and parents gained access to budget information through newspaper publication only tells us that communication had some role in the story. It does not explain how communication mechanisms contributed to reducing corruption. While public access to budget information was a necessary condition, it was obviously not sufficient.

This paper argues that communication’s contribution to achieving good governance outcomes lies primarily in the area of influence. Through effective use of communication mechanisms, reformers can influence opinion, attitude, and behavior change among stakeholders toward supporting governance reform objectives. An understanding of communication processes can help reveal the source, message, audience, and contextual factors involved in bringing about positive change. Findings from applied research in political communication provide us with plausible explanations for how communication influence mechanisms

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1 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. 2007, pp. iii–iv. Strengthening World Bank group engagement on governance and anti-corruption.

2 Reinikka, R. & Svensson, J. 2005. “Fighting corruption to improve schooling: Evidence from a newspaper campaign in Uganda.” Journal of the European economic association 3(2–3): 259–67. contribute to good governance outcomes. The overarching goal of this paper is to identify and elaboration on some of the linkages among the following: reform objectives; communication influence mechanisms; opinion, attitude and behavior change; and good governance outcomes.

**Good Governance**

Given the fundamental importance of governance in improving the lives of citizens, it is essential that we develop a clear picture of what we mean by good governance. The United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID)(^3) defines good governance as “. . . not just about government. It is also about political parties, parliament, the judiciary, the media, and civil society. It is about how citizens, leaders and public institutions relate to each other in order to make change happen.”

Good governance requires three things:

- **State capability**—the extent to which leaders and government are able to get things done;
- **Responsiveness**—whether public policies and institutions respond to the needs of citizens and uphold their rights;
- **Accountability**—the ability of citizens, civil society and the private sector to scrutinize public institutions and governments and hold them to account. This includes, ultimately, the opportunity to change leaders by democratic means. (p. 20)

DfID’s tripartite formula implies that it is the state’s mandate to get things done and be responsive to citizens’ needs. In development parlance, this is the **supply side of governance**. Accountability, on the other hand, implies the right, but also the obligation on the part of citizens’ groups, civil society, and private firms to remain vigilant, engaged, and demand better service provision and delivery from their leaders. This we call the **demand side of governance**.

**Changing Opinions, Attitudes, and Behavior toward Building Political Will, Organizational Will, and Public Will**

The World Bank’s Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP) has learned from global experience that the success and sustainability of reform, on both the supply and demand sides, often hinges on opinion, attitude, and behavior change among key stakeholders.

Through interviews with reform managers and project leaders in international development, CommGAP found that reform initiatives and accountability relationships are strengthened at three levels:

- **political will** among coalitions of leaders and policymakers (opinion, attitude, and behavior change among elites)
- **organizational will** within bureaucracies, especially at middle management level (opinion, attitude, and behavior change among public sector bureaucrats)

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(^3) United Kingdom Department for International Development. 2006. *Eliminating World Poverty: Making Governance Work for the Poor*. Norwich, U.K.: Stationery Office. • **public will** by mobilizing civil society and encouraging citizen participation (opinion, attitude, and behavior change among members of the public)

The World Bank’s Governance and Anti-Corruption (GAC) Strategy groups societal stakeholders into five categories, or entry points⁴, for governance reform. Strong accountability relationships between and among these entry points are necessary for a governance system to work well. For an illustration of associations among political, organizational, and public will; the supply and demand sides of governance; and the five governance entry points, please see graph below:

**Governance Entry Points and Communication Mechanisms**

The GAC strategy’s five entry points to governance comprise the stakeholder groups a reformer must influence to build political, organizational, and public will. Influencing these stakeholders requires skillful application of communication mechanisms that lead to opinion, attitude, and behavior change in support of reform objectives. The entry points fall under the supply and demand sides of governance, some solidly on either side and others including elements of both. They all have a role to play in achieving good governance outcomes: states that are capable, responsive, and accountable to their citizens (Annex A presents these linkages in tabular form).

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⁴ (1) Public Sector Management—the *central government executive*, including cross-cutting control agencies responsible for public finance and human resource management, and front-line regulatory and service provision agencies; (2) Oversight Institutions—*formal oversight institutions outside the executive*, including the judiciary, parliament and other independent oversight institutions; (3) Political Accountability—*political actors and institutions* at the apex, setting the broad goals and direction of the system as a whole; (4) Local Participation & Community Empowerment—*subnational governments and local communities*, with their own service provision responsibilities, and often their own local arrangements for control and accountability; (5) Civil Society & Media/Private Sector Interface—*civil society and the private sector*, both in their role as watchdogs (including the independent media) and as the recipients of services and regulations, and hence a potential source of pressure for better performance (pp. 39–40). Communication Influence Mechanisms

In today’s context, elites and ordinary citizens gain access to public information through multiple communication channels—interpersonal discussion, social networks as well as news and entertainment media—effective communication makes significant contributions to achieving good governance outcomes. Evidence of the relationship between communication and good governance from applied research is presented below under the following headings: supply side of governance; demand side of governance; and approaches integrating both the demand and supply sides.

Supply Side of Governance: Securing Political Will through Public Interest Lobbying and Persuasion. Lobbying is defined as “... the art of educating and persuading your key audiences through direct, one-on-one contact” and is a practical way of building political will among elites. As such, it is an area of practice that draws on techniques of persuasion directly relevant to getting political elites to support reform efforts. Cohen et al. differentiate between formal and informal lobbying. Examples of the former include meetings in legislators’ offices; examples of the latter include engaging policymakers in the lobbies of hotels and legislative hallways, networking events, or community meetings. A further distinction should be made between public interest lobbying, motivated by a concern for the public good, and special interest lobbying, carried out on behalf of particular individuals or interest groups. CommGAP endorses public interest lobbying, both formal and informal, as a means of building political will in support of reform. For examples from development, we can turn to the implementation of the Citizen Report Card (CRC) methodology in various countries, in which citizens are asked to rate public services through a survey questionnaire. One of the most successful CRC experiences was in India, where the effectiveness of the CRC was predicated on the publicly-stated commitment of a high-level government official. The Bangalore-based Public Affairs Center, which developed the CRC, obtained this high-level commitment through public interest lobbying techniques.

Demand Side of Governance: Building Public Will through Participatory and Deliberative Approaches. Democratic engagement, a term used to describe both political and civic participation, is enabled and encouraged by public deliberation. Public participation can take many forms: “one can hold open meetings, do public opinion polls, solicit comments or letters, allow for mobilization in decision-making venues (participatory budgeting), and many other variations...” One particular type of consultative method, Deliberative Polling, was developed at Stanford University’s Center for Deliberative Democracy. A representative sample of citizens from a town, province, or country is recruited and given information on policy options regarding specific issues. These citizens are then asked to deliberate on the pros and cons of these options. Deliberative Polls and similar methods have been deployed in both developed and developing contexts with promising results. For example,

5 David Cohen, Rosa de la Vega, & Gabrielle Watson. 2001, p. 114. Advocacy for Social Justice: A Global Action and Reflection Guide. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, Inc. 6 David Cohen, D. (1999). Being a public interest lobbyist is something to write home about. In B. Smucker [Ed.], The Nonprofit Lobbying Guide, 2nd Ed. (pp. 94–103). Washington, D.C.: Independent Sector. Accessed on July 2007 through http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/lobbyguide.html 7 Gopakumar K. Thampi. 2007. ‘From “brakes” to “accelerators”: How informed public opinion facilitates behavior change in public officials.’ Paper presented at a CommGAP/World Bank workshop entitled Generating Genuine Demand with Social Accountability Tools, November 1–2, 2007, in Paris, France. 8 Michael X. Delli Carpini. 2004. Mediating Democratic Engagement: The Impact of Communications on Citizens’ Involvement in Political and Civic Life. In L. L. Kaid (Ed.), Handbook of Political Communication Research (pp. 395–434). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 9 James S. Fishkin. 2008. Consulting the Public—Thoughtfully. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholders, and Voice (pp. 277–286). Washington, D.C.: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. 10 Ibid. in Zeguo Township, Wenling City, China, a Deliberative Poll was conducted for selecting local infrastructure projects. Results from pre- and post-deliberation measurements include the following: participants became more informed about the issues, the increase in information led to opinion change, and participants became more publicly-spirited, ultimately selecting projects that would benefit the larger community as opposed to those that would cater to narrow self-interest. The importance of linking citizen deliberation to political will must be underscored: the results of deliberation in China — citizen preferences with regard to local infrastructure projects—were actually implemented by the local executive. In Benin’s 2006 presidential election, supposed benefits of citizen deliberation were tested in a field experiment. In the “treatment” condition, political party elites engaged in expert policy dialogues that led to specific policy-driven promises by each party. This was followed by town hall meetings during which citizens deliberated on these promises and were exposed to multiple viewpoints. In the “control” condition, citizens were offered typical “clientelist promises”. Candidates made commitments that would appeal to the self-interest of specific groups and their members. The study found that the “treatment” had a positive effect on how much voters knew about the issues and candidates as well as on turnout and voting. Similar to Deliberative Polls, the Benin example shows clear interactions between public will and political will in bringing about good governance outcomes: it took the willingness of citizens to engage and invest time and effort into the political process as well as the willingness of candidates to campaign on empirically-supported issue positions. This multi-dimensional understanding of communication influence that brings together political and public will leads us to consider approaches that more explicitly describe the role of communication and information flows in integrating the demand and supply sides of governance.

Integrative Approaches: Securing Political Will and Building Public Support through Framing and Agenda Setting. Simply put, framing is about communicating in a way that leads audiences to see something in a certain light or from a particular perspective. This is usually achieved by tapping into pre-existing beliefs, attitudes, and opinions, and highlighting certain aspects of a phenomenon and deemphasizing others. Political, organizational, and public will can be influenced by framing processes. In the area of climate change, for instance, “global climate change is a broader term than global warming and brings to mind different aspects of the issue” and these contrasting frames, in turn, call for different solutions. Formally, framing has been defined as “...a central organizing idea for making sense of relevant events and suggesting what is at issue.” Framing occurs “...when, in the course of describing an issue or event, a speaker’s emphasis on a subset of potentially relevant considerations causes individuals to focus on these considerations when constructing their opinions.” A health sector study undertaken in Africa revealed that diseases such as HIV/AIDS were more often framed with “negative, derogatory descriptions” in popular media than non-stigmatized diseases such as tuberculosis. An alternative approach is called problem-solution or issue framing where, for example, successful remedies and treatments might be compared with those that are less effective. More generally, the frames through which political elites, bureaucratic middle managers, and

11 Leonard Wantchekon. 2008. Expert Information, Public Deliberation, and Electoral Support for Good Governance: Experimental Evidence from Benin. Paper presented at the 2008 annual conference of the American Political Science Association, among others. 12 Lori Ann Post, Charles T. Salmon, & Amber N. W. Raile. 2008. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholders, and Voice (pp. 113–124). Washington, D.C.: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. 13 William A. Gamson & Andre Modigliani. 1989, p. 3. Media discourse and public opinion on nuclear power: A constructionist approach. American Journal of Sociology, 95, 1–37. 14 James N. Druckman. 2001, p. 1042. On limits of framing effects. Who can frame? Journal of Politics, 63, 1041–1066. 15 Cornelius Pratt, Louisa Ha & Charlotte Pratt. 2002, p. 899. Setting the Public-Health Agenda on Major Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa: African Popular Magazines and Medical Journals, 1981–1997. Journal of Communication, December, 889–904. 16 Joseph N. Cappella & Kathleen Hall Jamieson. 1997. Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good. New York: Oxford University Press. members of the citizenry view public issues are capable of driving what these societal actors think about and how they behave as regards these issues. Framing, under certain conditions\\textsuperscript{17}, has the power to influence opinion, attitude, and behavior change in support of viable solutions to public problems.

\\textit{Agenda-setting} has been defined as the ways in which the media agenda, public agenda, and policy agenda affect and influence each other.\\textsuperscript{18} For example, the public agenda (which implies public will and public opinion) can constrain the policy options of elites, while the media agenda affects what the public considers to be important issues of the day. In fact, a number of studies from around the world have demonstrated that topics and issues that the media present as important (i.e., the order/prominence of news stories) are also those that the public subsequently deems important.\\textsuperscript{19} Formally, media agenda-setting has been defined as “... some form of positive association between the amount of mass media content devoted to an issue and the development of a place on the public agenda for that issue.”\\textsuperscript{20} A study on media coverage of environmental issues in Ghana\\textsuperscript{21} found a correlation between the environmental issues that the public considered important (public agenda) and the environmental issues given importance by the media (media agenda). In Uganda, publication of budget information in education helped reduce corruption from 80% to 20% capture of non-wage funds in a span of five years\\textsuperscript{22}. A likely explanation is that access to information via newspapers increased parent and teacher vigilance which, in turn, reduced the corrupt behavior of political elites. In the context of natural disasters, the news media’s role as agenda-setter is particularly relevant: the world will only learn about disasters that the media choose to report.\\textsuperscript{23} Policy agenda-setting is the supply side component of agenda-setting theory, where the policy agenda has the capacity to influence both the media agenda and the public agenda. Studies show that communications from policy elites (and perhaps leaks from either disgruntled or ethically-driven bureaucrats) are important drivers of media coverage\\textsuperscript{24}. Agenda-setting theory makes explicit the interrelationships among the policy, public, and media agendas. The influence these three elements exert on each other is interdependent and reflects the critical linkages between political, organizational, and public will, on one hand, and communication structures and processes, on the other.

\\textsuperscript{17} For a review of these conditions, see Douglas M. McLeod, Gerald M. Kosicki, & Jack M. McLeod. 2002. Resurveying the Boundaries of Political Communication Effects. In J. Bryant & D. Zillman (Eds.), \\textit{Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research}, 215–268.

\\textsuperscript{18} http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Mass%20Media/Agenda-Setting_Theory.doc/

\\textsuperscript{19} David Weaver, Maxwell McCombs, & Donald L. Shaw. (2004). Agenda Setting Research: Issues, Attributes, and Influences. In L. L. Kaid (Ed.), \\textit{Handbook of Political Communication Research} (pp. 257–282). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

\\textsuperscript{20} Dietram A. Scheufele. 2000, p. 304. Agenda-setting, priming, and framing revisited: Another look at cognitive effects of political communication. \\textit{Mass Communication & Society}, 3, 297–316.

\\textsuperscript{21} K. Kwansah-Aidoo. 2001. The appeal of qualitative methods to traditional agenda-setting research. \\textit{Gazzette}, 63 (6), 521–537.

\\textsuperscript{22} Ritva Reinikka and Jakob Svensson. 2005. ‘Fighting corruption to improve schooling: Evidence from a newspaper campaign in Uganda.’ \\textit{Journal of the European Economic Association} 3(2-3):259–67.

\\textsuperscript{23} Susan D. Moeller. 2008. Considering the Media’s Framing and Agenda-Setting Roles in State Responsiveness to Natural Crises and Disasters. Paper presented at World Bank/CommGAP/Harvard Kennedy School workshop on \\textit{The Role of the News Media in the Governance Agenda: Watchdog, Agenda-Setter, and Gate-Keeper}. May 29–31, 2008 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

\\textsuperscript{24} John W. Kingdon. 1995. \\textit{Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies}, 2\\textsuperscript{nd} ed. New York: Longman. Communication in the Context of Governance

At the process level, communication influence mechanisms contribute to improved governance by influencing opinion, attitude, and behavior change of leaders and policymakers (political will), mid-level bureaucrats (organizational will), and citizens (public will) toward supporting governance reform objectives. These pro-reform change processes occur in both the demand and supply sides of governance. At the structural level, communication links citizens, civil society, the media system, and government, forming a framework for national dialogue through which informed public opinion is shaped. Understanding the process and structural aspects of communication is critical to effective governance reform.

Annex A. Entry points to governance reform; key stakeholders; political, organizational, and/or public will; and suggested communication influence mechanisms

| Entry Point | Key Stakeholders | Political, Organizational, and/or Public Will | Suggested Communication Influence Mechanisms | |---------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Public Sector Management | Central executive (supply side of governance at national level) | Strengthen political will and organizational will through reform coalitions; middle manager buy-in; enhance national government communication capacity | Public interest lobbying; persuasion; policy and media agenda-setting; issue framing | | Formal Oversight Institutions | Judiciary; Parliaments (supply side at national level) | Strengthen political will through parliamentary coalitions; enable public reporting mechanisms and enhance institutional legitimacy | Public interest lobbying; persuasion; policy and media agenda-setting; issue framing | | Political Accountability | Political party leaders; CSO elites; Captains of industry (supply and demand at national level) | Strengthen political and public will through supporting multi-stakeholder coalitions; facilitating policy dialogue and negotiation; enabling deliberation and debate | Public interest lobbying; persuasion; policy and media agenda-setting; issue framing | | Local Participation & Community Empowerment | Local governments & Local Communities (supply and demand at local level) | Strengthen political and public will through coalition-building; increase political efficacy of citizens; grassroots campaigns; enhance local government communication capacity | Participatory and deliberative approaches; public and media agenda-setting, especially through local and community media; issue framing | | Civil Society & Media/Private Sector Interface | CSO’s; Journalists and editors, Private firms (demand side at national and local levels) | Strengthen public will through engagement and participation of multiple stakeholders | Participatory and deliberative approaches; public and media agenda-setting; issue framing | The notion of the public sphere is at the center of participatory approaches to democracy. The public sphere is the arena where citizens come together, exchange opinions regarding public affairs, discuss, deliberate, and eventually form public opinion. This arena can be a specific place where citizens gather (for example, a town hall meeting), but it can also be a communication infrastructure through which citizens send and receive information and opinions. The public sphere is a central aspect of good governance. Without a functioning and democratic public sphere, government officials cannot be held accountable for their actions, and citizens will not be able to assert any influence over political decisions.

The idea of the public sphere is normative. It is an ideal of good and accountable governance. Its requisites are free flows of information, free expression, and free debate. The ideal public sphere is truly participatory and the best protection against abuse of power. In reality, we only find approximations to this ideal. However, promoting good governance means striving toward the ideal of a truly inclusive public sphere.

Historical Roots of the Public Sphere

To understand the meaning and the nature of the public sphere today, it is helpful to look at the historical development of the meaning of the term. Its meaning has always been closely tied to historical circumstances and to technical developments.

The historical trajectory also highlights the relevance of the public sphere for promoting democracy and political accountability.

Originally, the public sphere was a specific meeting place. With the development of media and communication technology, the character of the public sphere changed from a location to a communication network.1

- **Ancient Greece**—The most general understanding of the public sphere comes from the Ancient Greek city-states, where citizens directly participated in political decisions.2 Public life was tied to a specific locale, the agora, where citizens exchanged and discussed opinions.

- **European Monarchies**—In the non-democratic state-forms of later centuries, the Royal court was the public sphere, and only the king determined what was public.

- **Salons**—Over the course of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, coffeehouses (England), salons (France), and table societies (Germany) became places where aristocrats and members of the middle class met to discuss art and politics. In these gatherings, “authority of argument supplanted the authority of title,”3 social status became disregarded entirely.4 With the development of the first mass

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1 Splichal, S. (1999). *Public opinion. Developments and controversies in the twentieth century*. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. 2 Habermas, J. (1962/1995). *The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society*. Cambridge: MIT Press. 3 Price, V. (1992). *Public opinion*. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. (p. 9). 4 Habermas (1962/1995). medium, the newspaper, the groups that met in salons and coffee houses became truly public: “newspapers made public affairs and discussions about such affairs accessible to individuals scattered across space.”5 Technically, this denotes the advent of what is today understood as public sphere.

- **Tribal gatherings**—In stateless communities in Africa or in regions with strong tribal traditions, tribe gatherings have similar functions as Western citizen assemblies, or indeed the ancient agoras. Such meetings represent the public life of the tribal community.

- **Church congregations**—In periods of political struggle, the Church often provided a space for members of oppressed or marginalized groups to gather and articulate their objectives.

- **Today**—Today, the public sphere is even more strongly tied to the media. It is “defined in relation to the mass media, because the mass media permit the circulation of opinion and offer the conditions in which the forum can function.”6 The term gained new prominence with the spread of new communication technologies in the 1990s. The Internet in particular is considered to provide unprecedented opportunities for exchanging information and for deliberation among a large number of people of different backgrounds. Access for minority voices and political outsiders is considered to be essential to a well-functioning public sphere.7

### Defining the Public Sphere

The concept of the public sphere has a long tradition in philosophy and the social sciences. The contemporary understanding of the term is mainly based on the work of German sociologist Jürgen Habermas, who provided a comprehensive analysis of the nature of the public sphere and its historic transformations.8 He defines the public sphere as “network for communicating information and points of view . . . the streams of communication are, in the process, filtered and synthesized in such a way that they coalesce into bundles of topically specified public opinions.”9

The public sphere is situated between private households on the one hand, and the state on the other. It is a space “where free and equal citizens come together to share information, to debate, to discuss, or to deliberate on common concerns.”10

Until the invention of the printing press, citizens came together in a particular space, for instance a coffeehouse, where they discussed with other people. The development of mass communication has changed the nature of the public sphere from a physical space to a communication structure.11 Today, people can get in touch through telephone or the Internet, and they can find out about what other people think by reading a

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5 Splichal (1999, p. 23). 6 Bentivegna, S. (2002). Politics and new media. In L. Lievrouw & S. Livingstone (Eds.), *Handbook of new media: Social shapings and consequences of ICTs* (pp. 50–60). London: Sage. (p. 52). 7 Marx Ferree, M., Gamson, W. A., Gerhards, J., & Rucht, D. (2002). Four models of the public sphere in modern democracies. *Theory and society*, 31(3), 289–324. (p. 299). 8 Habermas, J. (1962/1995). 9 Habermas, J. (1992/1997). *Between facts and norms: Contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy*. Cambridge: Polity. (p. 360). 10 Oduhbeni, A. (2008). Public opinion, the public sphere, and quality of governance: An exploration. In S. Oduhbeni & T. Jacobson (Eds.), *Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice* (pp. 15–37). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. (p. 17). 11 Habermas, J. (1992). Further reflections on the public sphere. In C. Calhoun (Ed.), *Habermas and the public sphere* (pp. 421–461). Cambridge: MIT Press; Dahlgren, P. (1991). Introduction. In P. Dahlgren & C. Sparks (Eds.), *Communication and citizenship: Journalism and the public sphere* (pp. 1–24). London: Routledge; Splichal, S. (1999). Public opinion. Developments and controversies in the twentieth century. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield; Habermas (1992/1997). newspaper editorial or by watching local television news. Therefore, today’s public sphere goes beyond space and includes all channels of communications through which citizens can send and receive information. This two-way flow of communication is essential: A public sphere does not exist if, for instance, a government publishes information but does not listen to the people.

The public sphere is for the state what the market is for the economy. In the public sphere, the goods that are exchanged and the currency that is traded are not of economic, but of political nature. The main product of the public sphere is public opinion, and ideas are the “goods” that are exchanged. This view equates the public sphere with a “free marketplace of ideas,” a libertarian ideal where everyone is able to propose ideas, and where the best idea will win.

**Constitutive Elements**

A functioning democratic public sphere rests on five pillars:

- **Constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties**—Freedom of expression, opinion, and assembly. Most countries today accept basic civil liberties as agreed upon in the universal declaration on Human Rights.

- **Free, plural, and independent media system not under state control**—The media system is often seen as the main institution of the public sphere. As such, it can only guarantee equal access and voice to citizens if it is independent of political and corporate interests.

- **Access to public information**—This includes freedom of information legislation and a culture of transparency and openness. A large number of countries have adopted freedom of information laws. However, such laws need to be complemented by a culture that is conducive to openness and inquiry.

- **Civil society**—A vibrant civil society supports citizens’ demand for accountability and participation in the public sphere. Civil society organizations organize and promote the citizen agenda.

- **Sites of everyday talk about public affairs**—Everyday talk is an important factor in the formation of public opinion. Sites of everyday talk are all places where people come together to discuss politics (such as work place, coffee shops, schools).

The constitutive elements of the public sphere work together based on the underlying principle of openness and publicity. The philosopher Immanuel Kant articulated the principle of publicity as a legal maxim and as a fundamental principle of democracy. He stated that all actions that affect other people are wrong if they do not hold up to public scrutiny. Kant also designated the public sphere to be the space for “public use of reason.” The public use of reason is based on ethic principles of communication, such as respect for opposing speakers and viewpoints, the ability to compromise, and other principles of fair public debate.

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12 Splichal (1999). 13 This concept was invoked by U.S. Supreme Court Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in *Abrams vs. United States*, 250 U.S. 616 (1919). Holmes did not actually use this term but invoked the general ideal. See also Mill, J. S. (1859/1985). *On liberty*. London: Penguin; Milton, J. (1644/1927). *Areopagitica*. New York: Payson & Clarke. 14 Odugbemi (2008). 15 McQuail, D. (2005). *McQuail’s mass communication theory*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 16 Splichal, S. (2006). In search of a strong European public sphere: Some critical observations on conceptualizations of publicness and the (European) public sphere. *Media, culture & society*, 28(5), 695–7147. See also Habermas (1962/1995); Odugbemi (2008). 17 Kant, I. (1795/1983). To perpetual peace. In *Immanuel Kant: Perpetual peace and other essays on politics, history, and morals* (pp. 107–144). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett. 18 Habermas, J. (1981/1984). *The theory of communicative action*. Boston: Beacon Press. The Public Sphere and Civil Society

The democratic public sphere is a “structural force in politics . . . a critical part of the architecture of good governance,”19 which again is crucial for the elimination of poverty. The public sphere is a participatory space where citizens’ voices are amplified.

The concept of the public sphere is closely tied to civil society, although they are not synonymous. Civil society organizations act and can gain voice and influence in the public sphere, thereby exerting influence over official authorities through public opinion.20 “It is in the free and open public sphere that social movements acquire a public voice, fight for recognition, assert themselves, seek to shape public opinion, influence leaders and policy makers, and bring about change.”21 Good and accountable governance builds upon a free flow of information, free expression, and free discussion of matters of political concern.

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19 Odugbemi (2008, p. 15). 20 Habermas (1992/1997). 21 Odugbemi (2008, p. 28). Actors in the Public Sphere

- **The public**—The traditional understanding of the public refers to an imaginary group of people that are connected through their mutual interest in one or several issues of public concern. The members of the public need not be located in the same place. In contemporary social science, the term is often equated with politically relevant groups of citizens, for instance the electorate, civil society, local communities, or mass media audiences.22

- **Civil society**—Civil society and the public are closely related, but conceptually not synonymous. Civil society is constituted by organizations and activities that have no primary political or commercial character, and are not motivated by profit or power.23 Under certain circumstances they can become part of the public sphere.24

- **Public officials**—The state is not a part of the public sphere, but it has the capacity, and even the obligation, to be an actor in the public sphere. In the democratic public sphere, public authorities listen to the public and determine the public will, communicate their own issues and positions,25 and provide information about decisions and actions.

- **The media**—The mass media “have central significance in the creation of an institutional (infra) structure enabling the organization of the general interest both nationally and internationally.”26 In addition to providing communication channels, the mass media also introduce and shape topics of public discussion.

- **Private actors**—When private citizens or corporations enter the public sphere, they usually do so to promote private or public interests. In the latter case, they become part of the public.

Public Opinion

Public opinion is a product of the public sphere, and a crucial concept in governance and political decision making. Public opinion refers to:

- Affairs related to the state, the government, or social institutions;
- Issues that are open and accessible to everyone;
- Events, policies, or decisions that concern people that do not participate in them;27
- Issues of common concern;
- The public good (as opposed to private interests).

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22 Price, V. (2008). The public and public opinion in political theories. In W. Donsbach & M. W. Traugott (Eds.), *The Sage handbook of public opinion research* (pp. 11–24). London: Sage. 23 Splichal (1999). 24 Habermas (1962/1995). 25 Odugbemi (2008). 26 Splichal (2006, p. 703). 27 Mill (1859/1985). Public opinion is often understood to have the following characteristics:

- It represents one prevailing opinion among many possible ones.
- It tends to be transitory.
- It refers to the dominant opinion, the opinion of the majority.

Public opinion is formed through processes of collective decision making: 28

1. Issues of concern are articulated.
2. Possible solutions to a problem are developed.
3. Decision makers assess the consequences of choosing one option over the other.
4. Decision makers evaluate alternative solutions.
5. Decision making.

Public opinion is crucial for politics. As Scottish philosopher David Hume stated: “It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded.” 29 Public opinion is the basis of political power and legitimacy, and any government “is secure only to the extent that the relevant population willingly consents to the rule.” 30

The Public Sphere as Threat

Not only democratic governments need to be aware of the functions of the public sphere. Hostile public opinion can be a threat to democracies as well as autocratic regimes. In authoritarian contexts, hostile opinion can build underground and may eventually erupt to disturb the political order. Through mobilizing public opinion, opposition groups may be able to gather substantial support and frame reform proposals that a government may be forced to heed. In the worst case, divisive groups may fracture the public sphere, causing political chaos or even violence.

Politicians and technical experts sometimes argue that it may not be advisable to follow public opinion in every instance. It is assumed that people often do not know or do not care about particular governance issues. If this is the case, following public opinion may even be detrimental to citizens’ well being. A healthy and open public sphere is a remedy against uninformed and unconsidered opinion. The idea of democracy rests upon the assumption that if people are educated, have access to all relevant information, and if they are able to deliberate on issues, they have a right to have their say on how they are governed. Public opinion is not the “tyranny of the majority,” but the considered product of deliberation in the public sphere.

The Public Sphere as Opportunity

A properly functioning public sphere that allows for free information flows and for equal participation in deliberation will provide real opportunities for successful and good governance. Governments’ legitimacy rests on the support of the people. National unity or at least an operative consensus enables the effective

28 Price, V. & Neijens, P. (1997). Opinion quality in public opinion research. *International Journal of Public Opinion Research*, 9(4), 336–360. 29 Hume, D. (1994). *Political essays*. Ed. K. Haakonssen. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. (p. 16). 30 Odugbemi (2008, p. 17). implication of policies. Citizens’ genuine support for government programs and reforms is a prerequisite for their success. Active and informed citizens provide valuable input into the process of governance, helping to improve the quality and effectiveness of public service delivery. In short, governance is only good and democratic if citizens are able to form considered opinions within an open public sphere.

Policy Implications

An open and democratic public sphere rests on legally guaranteed civil rights, most importantly freedom of expression, opinion, and assembly, as well as access to information laws. Such laws will only be effective in a culture of openness. That means that public officials should feel committed to the public’s right to know, not the government’s right to secrecy. Media regulation should guarantee that the media can fulfill its democratic roles without political or economic pressures. Literacy and education promote a citizenry that is interested in public affairs and that is willing as well as able to participate in governance. Policies should target these main factors to promote a public sphere that enables good, democratic, and accountable government. This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about the public sphere in terms of conceptual background, historical trajectory, and empirical research. Each section in the resource guide corresponds with a section in the Public Sphere Participant’s Guide and provides an overview of additional texts regarding theory, research, and useful web resources. The suggested texts offer a more in-depth understanding of the concept. The web resources sections contain URLs to websites that might be useful in teaching or researching the topic. Links to websites are current as of July 2008.

The Public Sphere in History

Bentivegna, S. (2002). Politics and new media. In L. Lievrouw & S. Livingstone (Eds.), Handbook of new media: Social shapings and consequences of ICTs (pp. 50–60). London: Sage.

Habermas, J. (1962/1995). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Price, V. (1992). Public opinion. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Splichal, S. (1999). Public opinion. Developments and controversies in the twentieth century. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Splichal, S. (2006). In search of a strong European public sphere: Some critical observations on conceptualizations of publicness and the (European) public sphere. Media, culture & society, 28(5), 695–7147.

Defining the Public Sphere

Dahlgren, P. (1991). Introduction. In P. Dahlgren & C. Sparks (Eds.), Communication and citizenship: Journalism and the public sphere (pp. 1–24). London: Routledge.

Habermas, J. (1962/1995). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Habermas, J. (1992). Further reflections on the public sphere. In C. Calhoun (Ed.), Habermas and the public sphere (pp. 421–461). Cambridge: MIT Press.

Habermas, J. (1992/1997). Between facts and norms: Contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy. Cambridge: Polity.

Marx Ferree, M., Gamson, W. A., Gerhards, J., & Rucht, D. (2002). Four models of the public sphere in modern democracies. Theory and society, 31(3), 289–324. Mill, J. S. (1859/1985). *On liberty*. London: Penguin. Milton, J. (1644/1927). *Areopagitica*. New York: Payson & Clarke. Odugbemi, A. (2008). Public opinion, the public sphere, and quality of governance: An exploration. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), *Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice* (pp. 15–37). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Splichal, S. (1999). *Public opinion*. Developments and controversies in the twentieth century. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

**Constitutive Elements**

Habermas, J. (1962/1995). *The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society*. Cambridge: MIT Press. Habermas, J. (1981/1984). *The theory of communicative action*. Boston: Beacon Press. Kant, I. (1795/1983). To perpetual peace. In *Immanuel Kant: Perpetual peace and other essays on politics, history, and morals* (pp. 107–144). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett. McQuail, D. (2005). *McQuail’s mass communication theory*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Odugbemi, A. (2008). Public opinion, the public sphere, and quality of governance: An exploration. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), *Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice* (pp. 15–37). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Splichal, S. (2006). In search of a strong European public sphere: Some critical observations on conceptualizations of publicness and the (European) public sphere. *Media, culture & society, 28*(5), 695–7147.

**Online Resources**

Online database of freedom of information laws: www.ijnet.org/director.aspx?p=home

**The Public Sphere and Civil Society**

Habermas, J. (1992/1997). *Between facts and norms: Contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy*. Cambridge: Polity. Marx Ferree, M., Gamson, W. A., Gerhards, J., & Rucht, D. (2002). Four models of the public sphere in modern democracies. *Theory and Society, 31*(3), 289–324. Odugbemi, A. (2008). Public opinion, the public sphere, and quality of governance: An exploration. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), *Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice* (pp. 15–37). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

**Actors in the Public Sphere**

Habermas, J. (1962/1995). *The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society*. Cambridge: MIT Press. Odugbemi, A. (2008). Public opinion, the public sphere, and quality of governance: An exploration. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice (pp. 15–37). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Price, V. (2008). The public and public opinion in political theories. In W. Donsbach & M. W. Traugott (Eds.), The Sage handbook of public opinion research (pp. 11–24). London: Sage.

Splichal, S. (1999). Public opinion. Developments and controversies in the twentieth century. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Splichal, S. (2006). In search of a strong European public sphere: Some critical observations on conceptualizations of publicness and the (European) public sphere. Media, culture & society, 28(5), 695–7147.

Public Opinion

Glynn, C. J., Herbst, S., O’Keefe, G. J., Shapiro, R. Y., & Lindeman, M. (2004). Public opinion. Boulder, Co: Westview.

Hume, D. (1994). Political essays. Ed. K. Haakonssen. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

Mill, J. S. (1859/1985). On liberty. London: Penguin.

Odugbemi, A. (2008). Public opinion, the public sphere, and quality of governance: An exploration. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice (pp. 15–37). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Price, V. & Neijens, P. (1997). Opinion quality in public opinion research. International journal of public opinion research, 9(4), 336–360.

Price, V. (1992). Public opinion. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Traditional Definitions of Public Opinion

Traditional senses of “the public” include beliefs, attitudes, and opinions about the following:

- Affairs related to the state, the government, or broad social institutions.
- Something that is open and accessible to everyone.
- All the people who are affected by an event, policy, or decision. While “private” actions concern only those who participate in them, “public” actions affect both participants and the rest of the people either directly or indirectly.¹
- Something that is of common concern.
- The public good, as opposed to the private interests of individuals who represent only a segment of the broader public.

Modern Definitions of Public Opinion

The modern sense of public opinion is multidimensional and has the following characteristics:

- It represents only one prevailing opinion among many possible ones.
- It tends to be transitory.
- It refers to the opinion that seems to be the most dominant, widespread, or popular, even though there will always be a plurality of existing public opinions.
- It relates to “action or readiness for action with regard to a given issue on the part of members of a public who are reacting in the expectation that others in the public are similarly oriented toward the same issue.”²
- It is jointly produced by the following: (a) elite opinion leaders who express and publish opinions, have access to media outlets and technologies, and have high degrees of social influence or institutional power; (b) statistical records, which represent and measure opinions collected through polls

¹ Mill, J. S. (2002 [1863]). On Liberty (see Chapter IV). In The Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill. New York: Modern Library; Dewey, J. (1988 [1927]). The public and its problems. John Dewey: The later works, 1925–1953. Vol. 2, edited by J. Boydston. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

² Davison, W. P. (1958). The public opinion process. Public Opinion Quarterly, 22, 91–106; also see Allport, F. (1937). Toward a science of public opinion. Public Opinion Quarterly, 1, 7–23. and surveys; and (c) people’s “quasi-statistical sense” of which opinions prevail in their social and media environments, as well as how their own opinions match up with others.

Dimensions of Opinion and Expression

- **Cognitive/Theoretical**: Beliefs about the objective truth of factual, historical, or scientific matters.
- **Normative/Practical**: Beliefs about the moral or ethical rightness of actions, decisions, policies, practices, norms, laws, or values.
- **Expressive/Evaluative**: Beliefs about the truthfulness or sincerity of people’s subjective expressions of who they are and what they believe. Also, beliefs about the authenticity of expressions—i.e., whether an utterance or a cultural work (e.g., a work of art, a literary text, or a film) adequately expresses a personal viewpoint, a tradition, a coherent worldview, an artistic vision, or a group identity.

Polling and Aggregation—The Dominant Approach to Public Opinion Research

Aggregation refers to the method of collecting opinions that have been generated and expressed by disparate individuals, through either voting or polling. Aggregation is the fundamental assumption of the statistical analysis of public opinion. The assumption that aggregation reflects public opinion relates to the random sampling procedure in public opinion survey research. The random sampling entails that every individual has an equal chance to be picked by the survey. Thus, even with a small sample size, randomly chosen individuals are assumed to represent the entire population.

Critics of the aggregative method raise the following objections to the way it represents and measures public opinion:

- Statistical aggregation artificially represents public opinion because it fails to reflect the fundamentally social nature of opinion formation. It also therefore fails to show how the isolated opinions it collects relate to one another.
- Polling’s “one person, one vote” approach also overlooks power differentials in society. It falsely assumes that every individual opinion is equivalent and carries equal weight.
- Aggregation also fails to recognize that certain individuals within groups usually express opinions that carry more weight than the differing opinions of other group members.
- The same dynamic applies to different social groups within society. Some groups will have greater resources of expression, media dissemination, mobilization, and social influence than others.
- The “random sampling” procedure of public opinion polling blinds the process to individual respondents’ relative social roles and positions.

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3 Adapted from Habermas, J. (1984). *The theory of communicative action. Reason and the rationalization of society*, Vol. 1, translated by T. McCarthy, 15–23. Boston: Beacon Press.

4 For overviews of criticism, see Beniger, J. R. (1992). The impact of polling on public opinion: Reconciling Foucault, Habermas, and Bourdieu. *International Journal of Public Opinion Research*, 4, 204–219 and Splichal, S. (1999). *Public opinion: Developments and controversies in the Twentieth century*, 221–269. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. For a classic critique, see Blumer, H. (1969). *Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method*. Berkeley: university of California Press. • People also differ in their relative ability to express or even have an opinion on an issue, because they vary in their education, access to information, social knowledge, awareness of issues, or habits and opportunities of opinion expression.

• Opinions only matter when they are expressed by those who are responsible for taking the actions that relate to those opinions. There are “active minorities” who take interest in influencing and mobilizing public opinion on specific issues. But these effective and active minorities cannot be said to represent the general public.

• Similarly, there is the “silent majority” that better represents the general public, but it is generally unconcerned about issues that either do not affect it or that they do not think they themselves can affect (Champagne, p. 119).

What are practical implications of this controversy?

• These criticisms of the aggregation method call attention to potential blind spots in statistical research that attempts to measure how public opinion is formed, distributed, and changed.

• But if we recognize that these blind spots might exist, we can remain sensitive to inequalities that affect public opinion formation.

• Those inequalities can consist of differentials in the following: information access, awareness, attentiveness, education, social influence, media access, visibility, social or political power, and expressive competence.

• Critics of the aggregative method might be right to argue that researchers should study only potentially effective public opinions.

• But defenders of aggregation and random sampling argue that these methods can have populist effects. that is, they can give greater voice to opinions that would otherwise have been ignored were it not for the “one person, one vote” assumptions of polling.5

Elements of the Public Opinion Process6

• Issues: The topics about which people have opinions. These topics can fall within or cut across the three public opinion dimensions—i.e., cognitive/theoretical matters of truth, or normative/practical matters of rightness, or expressive/evaluative matters of sincerity and authenticity. Issue agendas are typically set by opinion leaders and by the mass media. Also, issues have their own dynamics of development, and these dynamics set parameters for the development of public opinion.

• Communication: The social and/or technologically mediated channels through which opinion circulates. Most public opinion forms through combinations and interactions of interpersonal and mass-mediated communication.

• Perceptions of Reality: People’s perceptions of “what the case is” in the material world, in the social world, and in themselves, as well as their judgments about how those three levels of reality intersect.

5 Converse, P. E. (1987). Changing conceptions of public opinion in the political process. Public Opinion Quarterly, 51, S12–S24.

6 Adapted from the following: Davison, W. P. (1958). The public opinion process. Public Opinion Quarterly, 22, 91–106; Glynn, C. J. (2005). Public opinion as a social process. In Dunwoody, S., Becker, L.B., McLeod, D.M., & Kosicki, G.M. (Eds.) The evolution of key mass communication concepts, 139–163. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. • **Demographic, Social, and Psychological Characteristics**: Different attributes or tendencies that vary across, and often within, individuals. Many of these characteristics are potentially relevant to public opinion research, including the following: race, class, gender, age, educational level, cultural tastes, group affiliations, access to information, media use, social position, occupation, opinion leadership, fear of isolation, conformity, etc.

### Influences of Perception on Public Opinion

- **Pluralistic ignorance**: The tendency for people to inaccurately perceive minority opinions as majority opinions, and vice versa. Pluralistic ignorance more likely occurs either when people's own judgments are not well established or when they face ambiguous situations. Pluralistic ignorance usually results when an issue generates divisive opinions. It may also change people's opinions when they feel embarrassed at being in the minority.

- **False consensus**: The tendency for people to "see their own behavioral choices and judgments as relatively common and appropriate to existing circumstances while viewing alternative responses as uncommon, deviant, or inappropriate." In situations of false consensus, people project their own attributes onto others. But they overestimate how many other people share their opinions and attitudes, as well as the degree to which others share them.

- **Looking glass perception**: People's perception that others hold the same opinions on issues as they themselves do, regardless of what others' actual opinions are. The looking glass perception is similar to pluralistic ignorance and false consensus, but it usually results when people are not sensitive to differing opinions in others, and when issues do not generate divisive opinions.

- **The spiral of silence (SOS) theory**: Noelle-Neumann's theory that people will confidently express their opinions when they notice that they share the prevailing opinion, but that they will remain silent and keep their opinions to themselves when they are in the minority. Noelle-Neumann bases this theory on strong assumptions that people fear isolation and that society will use isolation to punish those who hold deviant or unpopular opinions. Scholars have criticized this theory for disregarding the complexity of media environments and for failing to apply beyond small-group situations in which people feel social pressures directly.

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7 Glynn, C. J., Ostman, R. E., & Mcdonald, D. G. (1995). Opinions, perception, and social reality. In Glasser, T.L. & Salmon, C.T. (Eds.). (1995). *Public opinion and the communication of consent*, 249–277. New York: Guilford Press.

8 Latané, B., & Darley, J. (1970). *The unresponsive bystander: Why doesn't he help?* New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

9 Miller, D. T., & McFarland, C. (1987). Pluralistic ignorance: When similarity is interpreted as dissimilarity. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology*, 53, 298–305.

10 Ross, L., Greene, D., & House, P. (1977). The false consensus phenomenon: An attribution bias in self-perception and social psychological processes. *Journal of Experimental Social Psychology*, 13, 279–301.

11 Fields, J. M., & Schuman, H. (1976). Public beliefs about the beliefs of the public. *Public Opinion Quarterly*, 40, 427–488.

12 Noelle-neumann, E. (1993). *The spiral of silence: Public opinion-our social skin*, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; Noelle-neumann, E. (1995). Public opinion and rationality. In T. L. Glasser & C. T. Salmon (Eds.), *Public opinion and the communication of consent*, 33–54, New York: Guilford Press.

13 Glynn, C. J. and McLeod, J. (1985). Implications of the spiral of silence theory for communication and public opinion research. In Sanders, K., Kaid, L., & Nimmo, D. (Eds.), *Political Communication Yearbook*, 1, 43–65. Carbondale IL: Southern Illinois University Press. • **Third-person effect:** A tendency for people to believe that media messages, especially potentially harmful ones, will have a greater impact “not on ‘me’ or ‘you,’ but on ‘them’—the third persons.” With respect to perception, people perceive greater effects of harmful media messages on others than on themselves. With respect to behavior, the difference between perceived media effects on the self and on others will lead people to endorse restricting particular media messages. The third-person effect therefore might play a role in disputes over freedom of expression versus censorship.

How can these theories of public opinion perception inform your practice?

• They offer ways of seeing how perceived opinions differ from measured opinions. • Pluralistic ignorance, false consensus, and the looking glass perception can help researchers assess situations in which people believe that others’ opinions are either more conservative or more liberal than their own. • The third-person effect helps explain public support for censorship. It proposes that people’s support for censorship may be based on their misperception that a majority of other people are vulnerable to media messages. • The spiral of silence theory suggests that a homogenous view in a society will make people either conform and change to the same view, or keep silent. But in complex media environments, there should be a better understanding that people can find alternative views and channels that fit their views.

14 Davison, W. P. (1983). The third-person effect in communication. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 47*, 1–15. CHANGING PUBLIC OPINION

This resource list is designed for those planning to train on or incorporate theory and research on changing public opinion into their training practice. Included are suggested texts and websites that offer information beyond the participant handout.

Suggested Public Opinion Texts

- Converse, P.E. (1987). Changing conceptions of public opinion in the political process. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 51*, S12–S24.
- Davison, W.P. (1958). The public opinion process. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 22*, 91–106.
- Glasser, T.L. & Salmon, C.T. (Eds.). (1995). *Public opinion and the communication of consent*. New York: Guilford Press.
- Glynn, C.J. (2005). Public opinion as a social process. In Dunwoody, S., Becker, L.B., McLeod, D.M., & Kosicki, G.M. (Eds.) *The evolution of key mass communication concepts* (pp. 139–163). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
- Kelman, H. (1939). Processes of opinion change. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 3*, 228–249.
- Knight, J., & Johnson, J. (1994). Aggregation and deliberation: On the possibility of democratic legitimacy. *Political Theory, 22*, 277–296.
- Lippmann, W. (1997). *Public opinion*. New York: Free Press Paperbacks. (Original work published 1922)
- Noelle-Neumann, E. (1993). *The spiral of silence: Public opinion—our social skin* (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Price, V. (1992). *Public opinion*. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
- Splichal, S. (1999). *Public opinion: Developments and controversies in the twentieth century*. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

American Public Opinion Websites

- **American National Election (ANES) Studies** The survey has been conducted every other year since 1952, with focus on the political process, the role of government, and social and economic issues. http://www.electionstudies.org • **American Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy** This large-scale public opinion survey has been conducted by The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations every four years between 1974 and 2002, and then every two years since then. The topical focus is American and international public opinion on a wide-range of important international issues. Full text reports and results are accessible. http://www.ccrf.org/pos_overview.php

• **The Gallup Organization** The organization has conducted public opinion surveys for more than 70 years, on a wide variety of topics such as recent political and economic polling, attitudes toward social issues and consumer behavior. Some multinational studies are also included. Some datasets for many Gallup polls are available from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research site. http://www.gallup.com

• **General Social Survey (GSS)** The survey started in 1972, funded by the sociology Program of the National science Foundation and conducted by National Opinion Research Center at University of Chicago. It measures attitudes toward social and public policy issues, economic status, political events, work, and family life. Certain topics are included on a rotating basis, which include gender equity, religious beliefs, and perception of work. http://www.norc.org/projects/General+Social+Survey.htm

• **The Pew Internet & American Life Project** Also led by the Pew Research Center and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, this project surveys and reports on the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project releases about 15–20 pieces of research a year, based on analysis of observation, in-depth interviews, nationwide telephone surveys, and online survey data. http://www.pewinternet.org

• **The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press** An independent opinion research group with particular focus on attitudes toward the press, politics, and public policy issues. Their regular national surveys measure public attentiveness to major news stories. Their polling charts trends in values and political and social attitudes. The Center is sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts. http://pewresearch.org/ http://people-press.org

### Other Public Opinion Websites

• **iPOLL, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research** The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is one of the world's leading archives of social science data, specializing in data from surveys of public opinion. The data held by the Roper Center spans from the 1930s, when survey research was in its infancy, to the present. Most of the data are from the United States, but more than 50 nations are represented. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu • **World Public Opinion (WPO)** Launched by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) in January 2006, the organization provides in-depth information and analysis on public opinion from around the world on international issues. http://www.worldpublicopinion.org

• **PollingReport.com** An independent and non-partisan resource where selected reports on trends in American public opinion are available. http://www.pollingreport.com

• **Public Agenda** The non-partisan and non-profit website discusses various current issues such as education, economy, immigration, foreign policy, religion, and civility in American life. It was founded by author and professional pollster Daniel Yankelovich and former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in 1975. http://www.publicagenda.org Fishkin, J. S., He, B., & Siu, A. (2008). Public consultation through deliberation in China: The first Chinese Deliberative Poll. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 461–475). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Garcia, Helen R. (2007). Needs assessment for the Learning Program on Communication and Governance. Internal report. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Heifetz, Ronald, Grashow, Alexander, and Linsky, Marty (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Masty, S. J. (2008). Communication, coalition building, and development: Public enterprise reform in West Bengal and Orissa States, India. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 355–390). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Masty, S. J. Tax Reform and Communication in Bulgaria: Getting It Right, In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 413–417). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.

Odugbemi, S., 2008, 'Public Opinion, the Public Sphere, and Quality of Governance: An Exploration', Chapter 2 in Governance Reform under Real World Conditions, CommGAP, World Bank http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3732

This study from the World Bank argues that the power of public opinion is a critical factor. Further, a democratic public sphere provides a vital structure through which good governance may be secured.

Odugbemi, S., and Jacobson, T., (eds.) 2008, 'Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions', Communications for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington D.C. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3758

This volume from the World Bank argues that successful, sustained reform requires the alignment of citizens, stakeholders, and voice. Reformers must overcome adaptive challenges such as public opinion, self-interested forces and inertia, and this requires skilled communication. Communication links the constitutive elements of the public sphere – engaged citizenries, vibrant civil societies, plural and independent media systems, and open government institutions – to facilitate the national dialogue which shapes informed public opinion.

Wilson. M., Warnock, K., and Schoemaker, M., 2007, 'At the Heart of Change: The Role of Communication in Sustainable Development', Panos Institute, London http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3717

1 Source of annotated references - McLaughlin, C. & Scott, Z. (CommGAP 2011). Topic guide on communication and governance http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/CommGAP2March2011.pdf. This report from Panos argues that information, communication, the media and ICTs are powerful agents in giving ‘voice’ to the poor. Open, participatory information and communication processes contribute to inclusive politics, better governance, a dynamic civil society, and to rapid, fairer economic growth. However, communication must be put at the service of the poor – at community, national and international levels. A wide-ranging, holistic and strategic approach to information and communication challenges is needed, plus – crucially – political will to address them.

Lines, K. 2009, ‘Governance and the Media: A Survey of Policy Opinion’, BBC World Service Trust, London http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/pdf/governance_media_survey_April09.pdf

This report sets out to provide a fresh analysis of current thinking and practice about the role of media in relation to governance outcomes. It finds that whilst there is some evidence to support the perception that policy makers recognise the central role that media plays in development more than they did formerly, policy and programmatic attention that media receives does not equate to its perceived importance for governance.

Coffey International Development, 2007, ‘The Role of Communication in Governance: Detailed Analysis’, Coffey International Development, London http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3757

This paper from Coffey International Development analyses the positive and negative contributions of communication to governance. In theory, effective communication can help to promote good governance; however, a solid evidence base is lacking and a positive correlation should not be assumed. Existing studies suggest that it is not enough to create the means of communication; enabling factors must be in place so that voices can be heard and citizens can hold government to account.

The Communication Initiative, 2007, ‘Communication and Governance’, Ch. 3 in World Congress on Communication for Development: Lessons, Challenges, and the Way Forward, The Communication Initiative, Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations, and The World Bank http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3721

This book chapter reports on some of the findings of the World Congress on Communication for Development. It argues that free flows of information and communication lie at the heart of good governance, transparency and accountability. Communication for development has evolved beyond traditional propaganda and marketing to a greater emphasis on two-way communication flows, dialogue, and participation.

CommGAP, 2008, ‘The Public Sphere’ Policy Brief, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington DC http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/PubSphereweb.pdf

TECHNICAL BRIEFS

CommGAP (n.d.). The public sphere. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/PubSphereweb.pdf.

CommGAP (n.d.). Changing public opinion. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/PublicOpinionweb.pdf.

CommGAP (n.d.). Communication for good governance. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/Governanceweb.pdf. VIDEOS

Sina Odugbemi, CommGAP Program Head, ‘The Global Forum for Media Development’, 2008, Running time: 3:13 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvPipaLq60o

James Fishkin, Stanford University, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007, Running time: 3:57 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da5Irgz3qpk Using Political Economy Analysis

Participants will learn the importance of using political economy analysis and gain deeper understanding of the challenges faced by reform leaders in effecting change. Political economy analysis may expose the obstacles that can block reform due to difficult or hostile stakeholder groups and arising from the social, cultural and political context of the overall reform environment. The case study on Urban Bus Operations in Dhaka is used to present an operationally-relevant approach for employing political economy analysis. This is accomplished through an examination of the ‘what, why and how’ of reform and a thoughtful consideration of the what and why of the persistence of challenges, their political economy roots, and how the recurring obstacles were addressed to successfully implement reform.

Key Concepts and Messages

• Operationalizing political economy analysis involves a process of examining the ‘what, why and how’ of reform. • A well-informed stakeholder analysis is required to identify the critical stakeholders – the winners and losers, the strong allies, potential supporters and opponents of reform. • Implementing and sustaining reform requires a well-designed communication strategy to build broad support for reform.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to: • Understand the value of political economy analysis in gaining a deeper understanding of reform challenges, • Apply the approach of operationalizing political economy analysis as a tool to examine the ‘what, why and how’ of reform, • Use the knowledge gained from the analysis to map out a communication strategy aimed at mobilizing multi-stakeholder support for reform COALITION BUILDING

Exercise: Small Group Work: Stakeholder Analysis Session Length: 90 minutes

Teaching Notes and Process Guide

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|-------------------------------------|

[Two active buttons here, side by side :]

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*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

Small Group Work

TIME ALLOTTED: 40 MINUTES

PURPOSE To apply the knowledge acquired by, stakeholder mapping and improve skills for analyzing the attitudes of critical stakeholders, the veto players, according to their perceptions, position and level of influence upon the proposed reform.

PROCESS

1. Ask participants to break into small groups of four to five people.
2. Distribute the handouts.
3. Briefly explain that the groups will have to: • Identify the key stakeholders, their interests, perceptions, and level of influence and status with respect to the reform. Each group will have 20 to 25 minutes to discuss and share their assessments, based on their reading of the Dhaka Urban Bus Reform handout. • Fill out the Stakeholder Analysis Map (S2-HO2) as best you can. • Present each group’s findings in plenary. Ask each group to make a two to three minute presentation.
4. After the group presentations, invite comments and reactions from all participants.
5. Debrief the participants to reinforce learning from the activity. Depending on the insights garnered from the presentations, the facilitator may ask some follow-up questions. • How did you find this experience? • Was there any aspect which you found difficult? • What outcome did you expect? In what way was the actual outcome different from your expectations? • Is there an area where you feel you need more practice? • What did you find most useful or relevant? • How would you do things differently? Urban Bus Operations in Dhaka

Unsafe, polluting buses are allowed to operate on Dhaka’s already choked roads. Yet past efforts to regulate and reform bus operations have been thwarted by the efforts of business syndicates, politicians, police and trade unions. A strategic transport plan has been prepared, but effective implementation will take actions on many fronts. The driving force for reform could come from owners of large bus companies, with support from their workers, associations, and trade unions, along with civil society groups, and the media. The Bank and other international partners can support reform efforts, but they will only succeed with sustained, determined and courageous leadership backed by a cohesive and determined Bangladeshi political coalition.

This note summarizes the results of a political economy analysis [1] which aimed to increase the Bank’s understanding about the reasons why unsafe, polluting buses continue to operate on Dhaka’s already choked roads, despite efforts to regulate and reform bus operations. It addresses three sets of issues:

1. **What** are the systemic problems that continue to plague the bus sector in Dhaka?
2. **Why** have these ailments persisted?
3. **How** can coalition building and a good communications strategy help to address these pathologies?

Context

There are around 6700 buses in Dhaka, operating on about 170 kms of road space (out of around 3000 kms) that are fit for buses. The public sector entity, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), operates less than 2% of the buses. The overall bus operations are regulated by a number of bodies with overlapping mandates. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is empowered to regulate public transport vehicles. The Road Transport Committee (RTC) is appointed by the BRTA to award route permits. The Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) plans and coordinates public transport services. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is responsible for enforcing regulations. The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is responsible for overall municipal governance and administration. Development partners such as the World Bank have provided support to these authorities in infrastructure development, institutional strengthening and policy support. Other key stakeholders include bus owners (individuals or companies), bus workers, commuters, owners of other modes of transport, civil society, the media, and politicians.

Despite the extensive regulatory framework and work of interested stakeholders, bus transport in Dhaka leaves much to be desired. The chaos in bus operations in Dhaka includes unsafe buses that offer poor quality service, are insensitive to commuters’ needs, and are grossly polluting. Most fatal pedestrian accidents in Dhaka are caused by buses, one corridor (Uttara-Motijheel-VIP) has more than 50% of the total buses in the city using just 30% of the total allocated bus routes, and it has been well-documented under the World Bank financed Air Quality Management Project (AQMP) that urban diesel buses are the major source of air pollution. In addition, the conflict between buses and other modes of motorized and non-motorized transport has contributed to average traffic speeds in the range of 10 kph in Dhaka, further aggravating commuters and air pollution.

A careful analysis [2] of costs for four different types of Dhaka buses finds that expected costs for operations, maintenance and depreciation per kilometer are up to 42% higher than the current Government fare, even without including illegal bribes and payments made. However, it is expected that bus owners make up for this by, *inter alia*, peak hour overloading, minimal maintenance, using buses long after their recommended lifespan, and adding on unauthorized charges based on what commuters are willing to pay.

**What are the systemic problems?**

Understanding why these conditions persist starts by analyzing the above contextual factors in more detail, and the *de facto* rules and regulations that both aggravate and take advantage of these conditions.

**STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF SERVICE**

The standard of bus service is inferior in physical and service quality. In terms of physical quality, many buses fail to meet safety and comfort standards. For example, buses and an estimated 90% of mini-buses are routinely fitted with extra seats proscribed by law, leading to very little leg space. Seats are also very small and in poor condition, there are no handrails for passengers who are standing, and windows are broken, thus allowing dust and rain to come in. Most buses are more than 20 years old, emit black smoke, are badly dented, are vulnerable to accident due to faulty brakes, and lacking signal lights and rear view mirrors. (According to the report by Bhuiyan [2], 72% of the buses are less than 6 years old based on survey data; this is probably because for imported used buses, age is counted from date of registration in Dhaka.

Aspects of poor service quality include overloading of passengers, which contributes both to discomfort and to frequent pick-pocketing in crowded buses. Lack of adherence to time schedules occur both due to traffic jams, and to the practice of frequent stopping in unscheduled and unauthorized places to pick up passengers. To compete with other buses for passengers, there is often reckless driving. Seats reserved for women are very few, and women passengers are reportedly mistreated by the bus staff. Passengers are also pushed out by the staff while exiting. FRAGMENTED INDUSTRY

The industry is fragmented in many ways, which works to hinder efficient service. First, there are many kinds of buses, including large buses (40+ seats), mini-buses (about 30 seats), and human haulers (modified small trucks that carry passengers). Second, there are varying ownership structures. Until ten years ago, most buses were individually owned. The first bus company was registered in 1997, and starting in 2004, the Government decided to encourage companies with a minimum of 20 buses. There are presently more than 60 bus companies, with ownership ranging from less than 10 buses to more than 150 buses. The bus companies are organized under umbrella organizations.

Third, the fare structure is poorly regulated. Operators reportedly charge higher than the approved fare in many cases in the name of special services such as ‘seating service’, ‘gate lock’, and use of compressed natural gas (CNG). Conductors also reportedly demand fares for a given distance traveled in an arbitrary fashion; the resulting heated arguments and haggling are common scenes adding to the discomfort of other passengers. There are also concerns about the approved fares themselves. On the one hand, commuters feel that approved fares are too high, given the low quality of service, as is the case for the mini-bus. On the other hand, they prefer the comparatively better physical and service qualities of CNG run buses, but can’t afford to pay the higher, approved fare.

Finally, there is no system of franchised routes, with route permits issued to individual buses. This leads to a rag tag collection of vehicles on a given route with little bearing to effective route management.

GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES

Governance problems include the practice of buses violating traffic rules with impunity such as obstructing other vehicles, making unauthorized stops, haphazard parking in bus stops, and using illegal, hydraulic horns. Many drivers are inexperienced, unlicensed, and unaware of traffic rules; one traffic sergeant estimates that only 50% of all buses have all required documents, 30% have some, and 20% have none, carrying instead counterfeit ones. The majority of the CNG run auto-rickshaws, a large number of minibuses and more than one half million rickshaws are operating with fake licenses. In addition, traffic congestion discourages owners from introducing new buses because of the reduced daily passenger loads that buses can carry; for example, according to one owner, buses on one route that made up to 5 ½ trips per day a few years back, now make on average less than 3 trips per day.

Police reportedly demand bribes in the process of checking license and fitness documents, and to avoid requisition of vehicles for police duty. To cope, bus companies may make routine monthly payments to all the police boxes and Thana officers along their routes. Yet these payments don’t reach the street level police, who respond by stopping buses arbitrarily, and thereby adding chaos and unpredictability to their corrupt transactions. The RTC collects bribes for route permits, and bargains to raise the bribe price. The BRTA takes bribes for issuing driving licenses, blue books, registration numbers, and fitness certificates, and speed money to provide timely service. A portion of the funds collected goes to senior BRTA management, and political and transport association leaders.

In addition to these examples where bus owners, drivers and staff are the victims of corruption, these actors also engage in proactive corrupt practices themselves. Mini-bus staff are given early warnings from BRTA (for a price) about when mobile courts come into action, and the illegal, extra seats are taken out of the bus for the duration. Drivers caught with fake licenses don’t go to the trouble of appearing before the traffic section to pay the fine (200 taka or US$3) and regain the license, but rather obtain a new fake license costing 300 taka. Drivers also bribe police to operate buses beyond their allotted routes, or to turn back in the middle of a route if they see opportunities to collect more passengers without going the full distance. Political organizations also take their cut. Owners associations and trade unions collect not only annual membership fees, but also daily fees at key checkpoints; a portion is allocated to party leaders, and most of the rest to leaders of the associations and unions, with almost nothing left to serve the rank and file. Important party leaders dominate the bus owners associations, and have a key role in route allocations; these are in turn given without consideration to traffic congestion, in order to accommodate powerful clients, and to maximize revenue from formal and informal fees.

Why have these ailments persisted?

The inferior standard of bus service has persisted because of a range of rent-seeking practices affecting all aspects of bus operations and regulation making new investments unprofitable. Bus owners must pay extensive formal and informal fees, bribes, and speed money, to stay in business. The following explains key aspects of why these ailments have persisted.

POLITICAL PATRONAGE

Key ruling party leaders dominate bus owners associations. Association leaders are, in turn, members of the RTC, and work as conduits for other politicians. The RTC, through its role in route allocations, is the hub for patronage distribution. Routes are created to accommodate many clients, resulting in too many buses and congestion. Control of buses is invaluable when the need arises to transport supporters to political rallies and demonstrations. Donor supported infrastructure, such as bus terminals, is turned over to politically connected operating companies, such as Diva Enterprise, the operator of the Gabtoli Bus Terminal. Such operators may not pay appropriate rents to the DCC, and may provide poor service, but are beyond reproach because of their political connections, and the resulting fear of stakeholders to criticize them. Control of bus terminals gives operators rent-seeking opportunities, including proceeds from illicit trade and shipment of contraband goods.

Bus companies need to generously compensate a leadership team selected mainly based on ability to maintain good relations with key persons in authority, rather than on deep knowledge of the transport sector. For example, a Chairman might have a powerful position in a transport association, the RTC, and other relevant bodies. Board members may be retired army and police officials, or Members of Parliament. To protect their influence in the system, stakeholders bargain hard for key regulatory positions, raising funds through rent-seeking and extortion to bribe powerful political actors linked to the transport business, and relevant ministers, to work on their behalf. Companies also use media exposure to bargain hard: one company organized a press conference, among other strategies, to press BRTA to issue a route permit.

CO-OPTING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Bus owners associations and trade unions tend to change leadership automatically with changes in regime. These changes are comprehensive, going from top leaders down to city ward level terminal and route committees. The main reason is that these organizations desire to maintain their power rents, and control over constituencies; thus, leaders voluntarily cede power, or switch their loyalty, to the new ruling party. However, such control by the ruling party isn’t absolute: opposition party actors reportedly get roughly a quarter of the rents. This system of sharing, albeit asymmetrical, helps maintain stability, and avoid wildcat strikes and other forms of agitation by bus owners, staff and commuters. In an environment of rampant rent seeking, abuse, and political patronage based route allocations, it gives market actors political access and some degree of predictability in the system. COLONIZING INSTITUTIONS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

This system persists because it serves the interest of powerful stakeholders, and because those that would have the most interest in reform have little influence. Thus, the appointment of the likes of BRTA Chairman and the RTC membership is carefully managed. In addition, the capacity of regulatory institutions is kept weak. Thus, BRTA doesn’t have enough manpower to identify unfit vehicles and to take necessary actions; it has no management manual, nor does it provide adequate training to staff. Coordination within BRTA is weak, with different staff interpreting orders in different ways. Coordination between BRTA and other agencies is also lacking, with police complaining about BRTA non-cooperation regarding the drive against unfit vehicles. Further, to protect rent-seeking opportunities, BRTA allegedly has kept five vehicle inspection centers equipped with modern fitness testing technology out of operation for the last six years.

The DTCB staff has been reduced from 130 to 72, with no posts for road safety, public transport specialists, and engineers. A few mobile courts are held per year on an irregular basis. Police infrastructure is very poor, and many traffic policemen are inappropriately equipped. DTCB has no formal authority to hold the agencies it supervises accountable. The Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka of 2005 proposes to address these issues by increasing DTCB professionalism and expanding its authority.

ALLOCATION OF BUS ROUTES AND PERMITS

There are problems in the allocation of routes and route permits (the number of buses that can operate on a given route), which are not based on proper estimates of demand of commuters, nor on the infrastructure needed for effective operation, but rather on the narrow business interests of bus owners and their political supporters. A related issue is the lack of good information on the actual numbers of buses in service on a given route. This allows owners to succeed in getting approval for additional route permits by taking advantage of a rule that new permits can be granted when there is a gap between the maximum number of buses needed and the actual number of buses in services. This problem is exacerbated by the practice of bus owners exhausting the maximum number of route permits without having enough buses to operate in practice. As a result, other bus companies without permits have to negotiate with permit holders to illicitly rent access to routes.

Getting a bus route permit: the de facto rules

- To operate a bus, the owner needs to get a route permit
- To get a route permit he needs to be a member of the owners association, for which there is a fee
- The associations are politically affiliated
- The RTC has sole authority for granting route permits
- RTC is chaired by the Police Commissioner
- The RTC includes representatives of the associations
- The association representative acts as the conduit between the route permit applicant and the RTC
- Rents are extracted from the applicant depending on the location of routes A PERVERSE EQUILIBRIUM

Dhaka has not seen frequent agitations by the bus owners and employees, perhaps due to the perverse consensus of key stakeholders benefiting from the de facto rules of the game. This perverse equilibrium does not enhance the welfare of the citizen, but ensures rents and influence for all politicians linked to the sector. This has serious negative implications in terms of generating incentives for reform among political actors, even in a seemingly competitive political setting.

How can these pathologies be addressed?

While the Constitution provides a legal basis for the rule of law, equality, and respect for human rights, in practice the ruling party and its associates misuse state power and its formal structures for partisan political and personal gain. While formal institutional mechanisms for maintaining checks and balances are in place, in practice these institutions lack autonomy from the executive and are not trusted by the public [3,4]. These general problems of governance in Bangladesh apply in full measure to the bus sector, as can be seen from an analysis of the matrix below, depicting key stakeholders and their views on reforms. Most stakeholders are in one of two quadrants. Those in the upper right quadrant are those opposed to reforms, with high influence over the process. Those in the lower left quadrant are supportive of reform, but have low influence. There are only two supporters in the quadrant with high interest and influence, and none in the fourth quadrant.

Within the upper right quadrant are politicians, associations, and regulatory bodies dominated by key figures from these groups. These powerful elites use tools of corruption, patron-client dependency, and repression to sustain their authority, while ensuring that institutions of accountability are weak and subservient to their interest. The bus sector is an example of how these tools work in practice.

Addressing these pathologies will require actions on many fronts. Over the course of decades, Bangladesh may develop institutions where it is broadly in the interests of politicians and other elites to observe laws and constitutional rules, in the manner one finds in developed countries [5]. However, long before the emergence of impersonal institutions and the rule of law, it is possible for the country’s political leadership to subdue various patronage networks and mafias in the interests of better services for citizens where it has sufficiently strong political will (in the CTG’s case, this political will derived from its resolve to break up the major political parties, but such will can also be generated by a strongly articulated demand from citizens). Indeed, for a short time during the previous, military-backed caretaker government ruling from January 2007-December 2008, prominent political actors, mafia bosses, ward commissioners and terminal committee leaders who had engaged in extortion and rent seeking went into hiding (or were imprisoned), and large-scale mafia-type extortions abated. However, with the release from detention of prominent political figures prior to the December 2008 elections and the coming to power of a political government, these practices have reappeared.

To address the current situation, steps could be taken to promote the collective action capability of stakeholders in the lower left quadrant in the matrix, and to link them up in a pro-reform coalition with receptive and potentially receptive stakeholders in the upper left quadrant. The driving force could come from owners of large bus companies (40+ buses, mostly large and CNG equipped), who would welcome the increased revenue coming from reforms leading to less congestion, and would benefit from fair route allocations, while feeling confident that they could survive and prosper in a post-reform situation. Among other groups in the lower left quadrant, bus workers are expected to endorse reforms, particularly those from large companies. Both reform-oriented owners and workers may in turn urge their associations/trade unions to promote integrity, non-partisanship in association activities, and more transparency in their functions and accountability to general members. They could lobby for laws to de-link these organizations from political parties and to set standard criteria for eligibility of their leadership. They could also push for effective implementation of the recommendations of the STP. Pro-reform members of associations/trade unions may be able to expand their coalition if they see visible reform gains, say from a few pilot initiatives, supported by an information-education-communication drive. They might also promote new associations like the Association of Bus Companies (ABC), which aim to represent non-mobilized constituencies in the transport sector such as bus riders; this might, in turn, generate pressure on the traditional associations to change their anti-reform stance.

Civil society organizations linked to urban environmental issues could also be encouraged to play a greater role in voicing citizens’ concerns related to traffic congestion. They could critically observe the process of reform (e.g. transparency in bidding, determination of bus fare, and actual quality of services on offer). They could also monitor the economic rehabilitation of stakeholders who might suffer from reforms, such as rickshaw and human hauler pullers, and staff of small bus companies, to keep these stakeholders supportive or at least neutral towards reforms by countering inevitable false rumors with credible information. Likewise, investigative reporters in media organizations can be urged to master basic technical knowledge of transport issues so they can keep citizens better informed on transport governance constraints discussed above and related reforms. Both civil society and media organizations could benefit from technical and financial support from international partners such as the Bank to support these efforts.

One should not underestimate the difficulty of getting effective reform underway. Large bus owners and staff will be highly constrained in supporting reform by their current links to corruption networks of politicians, police, and leaders of associations, RTC, BRTA, DCC and BRTC. Powerful elites that feel threatened could fight back by orchestrating street battles, terror attacks, and extrajudicial killings. The Bank and other partners can support reform efforts, but they will only succeed with sustained, determined and courageous leadership backed by a cohesive, Bangladeshi political force [6]. References

1. Political Economy Analyses of Two Key Industry Sectors in Dhaka, Part A: Urban Bus Operations, report for the South Asia Social, Environment, and Water Resources Department, The World Bank, 2008.

2. Bhuiyan, Abdul Alam, Study on Bus Operation in Dhaka City, 2007. Air Quality Management Project, Department of Environment, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

3. Lokniti (Programme for Comparative Democracy, Centre for the Study of Developing Countries). 2008. State of Democracy in South Asia. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

4. Barman, Dalem Ch., M. Golam Rahman, and Tasneem Siddiqui 2002. State of Democracy in Bangladesh. Stockholm and Dhaka: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and University of Dhaka, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies.

5. Douglass C. North, John Joseph Wallis, Steven B. Webb, and Barry R. Weingast, 2007. Limited Access Orders in the Developing World: A New Approach to the Problems of Development Policy Research Working Paper 4359. Washington, DC: World Bank.

6. Wil Hout, and Richard Robison, eds. 2009. Governance and the depoliticisation of development. London: Routledge.

This Issues Note is based on a study conducted for the World Bank by Mirza Hassan and Abul Hossain (Consultants, SASGP) in 2007-2008 under the guidance of Jose Edgardo Campos (Lead Governance Advisor, SASGP) and Sameer Akbar (Task Team Leader & Sr. Environmental Specialist, SASDI) from the World Bank. It was prepared by Clay Wescott (Consultant, SASGP) in July 2009 as part of the South Asia Governance and Public Sector (SASGP) series on Political Economy and Governance. Comments on earlier versions of this Note were received from Ajay Kumar (Lead Transport Economist, AFTTR), Hubert Nove-Josserand (Sr. Urban Transport Specialist, SASDT), Sakuntala Akmeemana (Sr. Public Sector Specialist, SASGP) and Dr. M. Khaliquzzaman (Consultant, SASDI). The study was financed using DFID Trust Fund resources. SESSION 2

H A NDO U T

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS–DHAKA URBAN TRANSPORT REFORM

Stakeholder

Interests

Perceptions

Positions on reform

Influence

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## How to Use Political Economy Analysis to Guide Communication Strategy in Governance Reform

### Approaches

| Approaches | Description | |------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Enhance stakeholder empowerment through dialogic participation** | Dialogic participation’s main objective is the empowerment of grassroots stakeholders in engaging the policy-making process. This can be implemented by using a subset of the following techniques: multi-stakeholder analysis, journalistic interviews, assessment of participatory culture, narrative formats to tell reform stories, and training programs geared toward engaging authorities. This approach can be implemented through the techniques of carrying out political analysis for engaging citizen voice and training local stakeholders to effectively engage authorities. | | **Build support through monologic persuasion** | This essentially top-down approach toward reform is viewed as necessary in building support for a change initiative crafted by technical experts. Monologic persuasion requires that socio-psychological mechanisms of opinion, attitude, and behavior change be harnessed toward the diffusion and adoption in a reform initiative. In this vein, political analysis assists the reformer in charting paths of influence through which a reform will proceed through and among segments of a target population. This approach can be implemented through a combination of techniques such as multilevel stakeholder analysis and narrative formats used to tell reform stories. | | **Legitimate authority for change** | The principle underpinning this approach promotes the view that authority gains legitimacy when citizens believe that their voices are heard by elites and count in the decision-making processes of governance. Political analysis guides this approach by mapping out relationships among various groups, especially between government and civil society; and by identifying communicative interactions among stakeholders that lead to broad-based support for reform. This approach is associated with the techniques of multi-level stakeholder analysis, communication report cards, and training programs geared toward engaging authorities. | | **Assess the place of participation in cultures** | Grassroots participation may be desired as a comprehensive component of a reform initiative, or may be limited to particular stages of the change process. The cultures of societies and communities vary widely with regard to the open participation of particular population segments in policy decision-making forums. Sensitivity to these differences helps | reformers in terms of sequencing which groups should be involved at what stages, as well as the ways in which participation can help or hinder the reform process. Taking stock of trade-offs between participation and efficiency is an essential element in this approach.

This approach can be implemented by using the following techniques: multi-level stakeholder analysis, communication report cards, journalistic interviews, and training of local stakeholders to effectively engage authorities.

| Techniques | |------------------------------------------------| | **Enhance stakeholder empowerment through dialogic participation** | | Dialogic participation’s main objective is the empowerment of grassroots stakeholders in engaging the policy-making process. This can be implemented by using a subset of the following techniques: multi-stakeholder analysis, journalistic interviews, assessment of participatory culture, narrative formats to tell reform stories, and training programs geared toward engaging authorities. | | This approach can be implemented through the techniques of carrying out political analysis for engaging citizen voice and training local stakeholders to effectively engage authorities. | | **Carry out political analysis for engaging citizen voice** | | The type of political analysis needed to support this approach revolves around mapping political and social relationships among various levels of governance, and assessing the participatory capacity of local communities, particularly in terms of engaging local and national elites in the policy-making processes. | | **Perform multilevel stakeholder analysis** | | Mapping out various stakeholder groups and key individuals involves drawing linkages to increase understanding and generating insights regarding the political, social, and cultural landscape in which reform processes are played out. Particular care needs to be taken while assessing relative power relationships among groups and individuals, because these assessments provide opportunities and constraints to reform agents in moving a reform agenda forward. | | **Map the public sphere** | | The public sphere is a complex set of interlocking processes involving citizen conversation, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the media (newspapers, magazines, radio, television), unions, public opinion organizations, as well as political representatives who need to listen as well as provide information. All these elements must play their roles if the public sphere is to serve for effective and transparent governance. Mapping these players can improve understanding of the flows of information and opinion. | | **Use narrative communication formats** | | Situating reform efforts in larger cultural environments requires modes of communication that can capture the depth and breadth of human experience. For this, reform narratives should be created and presented through theater and film productions as well as in the short-story format. | | **Train local stakeholders to engage authorities effectively** | | It is imperative that individuals and organizations on the ground be equipped to engage people of authority at the local, state, and national levels. Training programs should include modules in leadership, negotiation, and understanding governance structures. | Reading List

Campos, J. Edgardo, and Jose Luis Syquia. 2006. *Managing the Politics of Reform: Overhauling the Legal Infrastructure of Public Procurement in the Philippines.* World Bank Working Paper 70. Washington, DC. World Bank

CommGAP, 2009, “Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques.” CommGAP, World Bank, Washington, D.C. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3763

*This study from the World Bank suggests that reform managers must be able to persuade society. Furthermore, although reform includes technical challenges, the challenges of adaptation require political communication.*

Nash, R., A. Hudson and C. Luttrell. “Mapping Political Context: A Toolkit for Civil Society Organizations” Department for International Development (2009). Political economy analysis how-to note. http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/PO58.pdf.

Fritz, V., Kaiser, K., & Levy, B. (2009). “Problem-driven governance and political economy analysis. Good practice framework.” Washington DC: World Bank Group.

Nash, R., Hudson, A., & Luttrell, C. (2006). Mapping political context. A toolkit for civil society organizations. http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/152.pdf.

Lal, S. (2008). The political economy of reform: Role of the internal “journalist.” In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (eds.), Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice (pp. 75–92). Washington DC. World Bank Group.

Besley, T., and Burgess, R., 2002, “The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness: Theory and Evidence from India.” London School of Economics, London. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3704

*This paper from the London School of Economics and Political Science highlights the importance of information flows about policy actions. Having an informed and politically active electorate strengthens incentives for government responsiveness. Evidence from India shows that state governments are more responsive where newspaper circulation is higher and electoral accountability greater; there is a role for both democratic institutions and mass media in ensuring that citizens’ preferences are reflected in policy.*

Singh, A., 2008, “Political Economy Reforms: Learning from the Delhi Water Experience,” in *Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions*, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson. Communications for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington, DC. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3764

*This research from the World Bank looks at efforts to reform the water sector in Delhi. It suggests that moving from policy rhetoric to its acceptance is always difficult. But instead of simply blaming the system for problems of implementation, it is important to analyse and work with the underlying reality.* Singh, A., 2008, ‘Political Economy Reforms: Learning from the Delhi Water Experience’, in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington DC http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3764

VIDEOS

Why do PE Analysis and what’s new in this area of work? Kapil Kapoor, World Bank Country Manager for Zambia, World Bank Institute-CommGAP workshop on ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques,’ 2009. World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 1:44 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOJ5BXTzEz0&feature=youtu.be

Rakesh Rajani, Head and Founder, Twaweza East Africa, World Bank Institute-CommGAP workshop on ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques,’ 2009, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 0:52 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOJ5BXTzEz0&feature=youtu.be

Christine Wallich, Director, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, World Bank Group, ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques’, 2009, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 1:53 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd8oe4-A7eM&feature=youtu.be

Claudia Melim-McLeod, Democratic Governance Advisor, UNDP Oslo Governance Center, World Bank Institute-CommGAP workshop on ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques’, 2009, World Bank, Washington DC, Running time: 1:47 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9-yZJvZQUc&feature=youtu.be

Ashutosh Varshney, Professor of Political Science, Brown University, World Bank Institute-CommGAP workshop on ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques’, 2009, World Bank, Washington DC, Running time: 1:27 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT_XoqJgl-E&feature=youtu.be

ON THE ROLE OF POLITICAL STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

Sumir Lal, Operational Communication, External Affairs, World Bank, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007, Running time: 3:51 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaggXLkMlMM

Matt Uzzell, Adam Smith International. ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 4:27 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAnm7KK-FEM SESSION 2

S2-VD1

Kapil Kapoor Zambia Country Manager, World Bank

S2-VD2

Rakesh Rajani Head and founder, Twaweza Addressing Recurring Challenges – The Three Wills

This module presents a strategic framework consisting of the Three Wills—“Political Will, Public Will, Organizational Will,” which further unpacks the obstacles to change and demonstrates the intrinsic roles that communication processes and influence play at each level of intervention. Educating and persuading key audiences on the rational and benefits of reform is a critical first step in the behavior change process.

Political Will, an outcome of elites’ willingness to provide private and public support to a change initiative is essential to making reform happen.

Organizational Will focuses on gaining unified support from public sector middle managers for their role in implementing and sustaining the reform effort, both internally and externally.

Public Will challenges are manifested through apathetic or indifferent behavior or as hostile public opinion which negatively impacts reform efforts. Strategic communication as a stakeholder-oriented approach which focuses on influencing changes in behavior, attitudes and opinions that lead to positive action that is pivotal to reform effort. Here we examine the role of political will, the importance of problem recognition and the conditions necessary for generating elite support for reform implementation. Participants will reflect on several key questions: Whose will constitutes political will in your environment? What is the attitude of the relevant leadership groups to your reform? How to increase leadership support for your reform? The session further outlines relevant communication approaches and techniques for building support from policymakers, political actors and reform leaders.

**Key concepts and messages**

- Political will exists when there is broad leadership support for change. A lone reform champion cannot do it single-handedly.
- Build problem recognition – the shared understanding of the issue that needs to be addressed.
- Broad acceptance among key decision-makers and political leaders will expand space for change.
- To make reform materialize, it is essential to advance from problem/issue recognition to a decision/action agenda.

**Learning Outcomes**

- By the end of the session, the participants will be able to:
- Define political-will challenges in reform environments,
- Recognize the drivers of political will,
- Learn and apply communication approaches and techniques towards securing leadership support for reform. Exercise: Individual Table Work: “Whose will constitutes political will?”

Session Length: 90 minutes

Teaching Notes and Process Guide

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|-------------------------------------|

*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* SESSION 3

EXERCISE

WHOSE WILL CONSTITUTES POLITICAL WILL?

Individual Table Work

TIME ALLOTTED: 30 MINUTES

PURPOSE To identify challenges to political will and explore communication-based solutions for strengthening leadership support for reform.

PROCESS AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Ask participants to break into small groups of four to five people.
2. Post the slide (Slide No. 7) with discussion questions on the screen. • Whose will constitutes political will in your environment? • What is the attitude of the relevant leadership groups to your reform? • How do you increase leadership support for your reform?
3. Ask the participants to write their responses on a sheet of paper.
4. Open the plenary discussion and invite participants to share their responses.
5. Discuss and summarize highlights of participant responses.

### How to Secure Political Will as Demonstrated by Broad Leadership Support for Change

What are the Best Methods for Reaching Out to Political Leaders, Policy Makers, and Legislators?

| Approaches | Description | |------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Open up spaces for reform** | Spaces for reform are found at the intersection of three factors: the acceptance of the reform by interest-group leaders, the ability of middle managers to carry out the reform’s prescriptions, and the wielding of sufficient authority by these managers to bring about change. When these three factors overlap, then the likelihood of a successful reform effort increases. Techniques associated with this approach include generating broad acceptance among leaders for reform objectives, ensuring that middle managers have the ability to carry out reform, and ensuring that organizational structures provide sufficient authority to reformers. | | **Establish interpersonal linkages among reform-minded leaders** | This approach prescribes that reform-minded leaders be linked to one another through “connectors,” people whose social networks span what may be disparate communities of practice. According to a belief that these leaders will be willing to risk political and social capital if they know they are not alone in supporting change, it is imperative to establish connections among them throughout the reform process to sustain leadership support. It is possible that the connector role will be played by different individuals at various stages of the reform effort. This approach can be implemented through the techniques of gaining the support of reform champions and connectors, and ensuring that organizational structures provide authority to the reformers. | | **Harness public will to generate political will** | Clearly, differentiating public will from political will is essential in harnessing the former in support of the latter. Cultivating public will through agenda-building processes and raising issue salience will allow the emergence of political will. Driving policy change demands sensitivity to people’s responsiveness to a given issue while securing political support for preferred policy solutions. Through these interlinked processes, the desires of constituencies | (public will) will create a reform-oriented environment that places pressure on leaders to support reforms. This approach can be implemented by the techniques of harnessing the dynamic of agenda building and framing processes, by securing consistent and intensive media coverage, and by gaining the support of reform champions and connectors.

**Recognize leaders as stakeholders**

The idea that leaders are stakeholders stems from the belief that self-interest is the primary driver in political life. In this view, leaders can be encouraged to lend their support to reform efforts if the issue is cast in terms of their self-interest. Key to this approach is mapping out incentives and disincentives among leadership groups, and identifying common themes as well as discontinuities. Persuasive messages can be crafted to obtain leadership support when one is armed with this knowledge. Techniques associated with this approach include harnessing agenda building and framing processes, securing consistent and intensive media coverage, and generating broad acceptance among leaders of reform objectives.

**Techniques**

| Map agenda-building mechanics | Understanding the ways in which issues earn their places on policy agendas equips the reformer with the capacity to bring resources to bear in support of this objective. The two principles underpinning this technique are scarcity of space on the policy agenda docket and the need to refresh perceptions about the policy in order to hold the attention of various stakeholders. Implied in these two principles is that a reform initiative must supplant other initiatives and should be redefined when necessary to maintain stakeholder interest. | | Frame the problem in terms of the sought-after reform | Once a problem has been framed (defined) in terms that are supportive of the reform effort, evidence from anecdotes to statistical data and analysis should subsequently be presented in support of this frame. Suggested policy solutions should likewise address the problem on the basis of the adopted frame. | | Convince media practitioners and journalists to support reform objectives | Reformers should also provide media-friendly messages to secure consistent and intensive media coverage. Members of the public rank issues on the policy agenda largely on the basis of the news media; that is, what the news media presents as the most important issues of the day will drive audience perceptions and opinions about the relative importance of the issue. It is essential, therefore, to convince media practitioners of the rightness of the cause and to communicate the reform’s arguments in media-friendly terms (for example, celebrity endorser, personal examples and easy sound bites). Many communication scholars believe that to gain traction in the public mind, reformers should attempt to keep media coverage of the reform issue in the news for at least five to seven weeks. | | Persuade leaders to adopt reform objectives as their own | Leaders need to have a deep understanding of the objectives as well as the technicalities of engaging in reform. It is necessary for them to gain in-depth understanding of these issues. They should be urged to share their concerns about the reform. If possible, these concerns should be incorporated in revising the reform’s goals and objectives. To facilitate the scaling up of the process, leaders should be considered members of communities of practice, who may very well share interests with others in similar positions of influence. | | Change work routines to enable middle managers to carry out reform policies | Although middle managers generally wish to stay in the good graces of senior managers who champion reform, it is also likely that the prescriptions of an endorsed reform initiative fall outside the middle managers’ abilities. For example, new procedures may take too much time or may put the middle manager in a tough position regarding subordinates and clients. It is imperative; therefore, that reform agents and senior managers consult with middle managers—who are usually the ground troops of reform implementation—about whether the reform components are feasible and practical. | | **Rearrange organizational structures to provide reform-minded politicians the requisite authority to carry out reform policies** | In addition to being set within the limits of organizational capacities, a reform initiative must fit the organizational structure, particularly in terms of whether individuals tasked to carry out reform components are vested with the requisite authority to implement change initiatives. Deficiencies in authority need to be addressed prior to reform implementation. | | **Identify and enlist support of reform champions and connectors** | To raise awareness among leadership circles, support from high-level champions in elected posts, as well as in the bureaucracy, needs to be secured. These individuals should lend their prestige and visibility to the reform initiative throughout the project cycle. “Connectors” who will provide interpersonal linkages among reform-minded champions should also be identified and included as partners in the reform initiative. High visibility and peer support are necessary both for generating excitement and sustaining commitments in reform efforts. | Defining Persuasion

Persuasive communication is any message that is intended to shape, reinforce, or change the responses of another or others. Such responses are modified by symbolic transactions (messages) which are sometimes, but not always, linked with coercive force (indirectly coercive) and which appeal to the reason and emotions of the target. Generally, persuasion refers to such communicative activities that are mediated. Those that are face-to-face are called compliance-gaining. Persuasive communication can be targeted at

- **Cognition.** Persuasion can be used to change individuals’ beliefs about an object or an issue, which includes attributes, interpretation, definition, outcome, etc.
- **Attitude.** Persuasion can be used to change individuals’ attitude toward an object or an issue, which refers to the categorization of an object or an issue along an evaluative dimension (from negative to positive).
- **Behavior.** Persuasion can be used to change individuals’ behavior, which is the overt actions regarding an object or an issue.

Persuasion vs. Propaganda

Propaganda is the communication of a point of view with the ultimate goal of having the recipient come to “voluntarily” accept the position as if it were his or her own. In addition to the pejorative flavor, propaganda has some essential and distinctive features:

- Propaganda has a strong ideological bent.
- Propaganda is institutional in nature.

______________________________________________________________________

1 Miller, G. R. (1980). On being persuaded: Some basic distinctions. In M. Roloff, & G. R. Miller (Eds.), *Persuasion: New directions in theory and research*, 11–28. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. 2 Wilson, S. (2002). *Seeking and resisting compliance: Why people say what they do when trying to influence others*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 3 Pratkanis, A. & Aronson, E. (1991). *Age of propaganda: The everyday use and abuse of persuasion*. New York: W. H. Freedman & Company. 4 Gass, R. & Seiter, J. (2006). *Persuasion, social influence, and compliance gaining*, 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Pearson. • Propaganda involves mass persuasion. • Propaganda tends to rely on ethically suspect methods of influence.

**Persuasion vs. Manipulation**

There are elements of manipulation and coercion implied in persuasion. However, persuasion is ethically neutral.

• It is the motives of the persuader that determine if a given persuasive attempt is good or bad. • Persuasion also serves a defensive, anti-manipulation function. • Individuals’ free will and free choice are intact in persuasion. They are able to make informed decisions as to if they comply with the persuasive messages or not. • Persuasion is symbolic, which is generally more ethical than influence via nonverbal or behavioral means.

**Means of Persuasion**

**SOURCE CREDIBILITY**

The impact of source credibility on persuasion can date way back to ancient Greece (ethos). Social scientific research in persuasion showed that there are two major dimensions in source credibility: expertise and trustworthiness, although dynamism, liking, similarity and physical attractiveness might also influence source credibility.5,6

*Information and Source Credibility:*

• A means to enhance expertise: Information on background, formal training, education, personal experience, and knowledge on the subject. • A means to enhance trustworthiness: legitimacy, speaking against one’s own interest, endorsement.

*Non-Verbal Communication and Source Credibility:* 7

• Features that enhance expertise: fluency, facial pleasantness/smiling, facial expressiveness. • Features that enhances trustworthiness: facial pleasantness/smiling, facial expressiveness.

*Message Delivery and Source Credibility:* 7

• Features that enhance credibility: pitch variation, citation of sources • Features that diminish credibility: filled pauses, response latency

*Maximizing the Impact of Source Credibility on Persuasion:*

• Personal relevance minimizes the impact of source credibility • Positioning of the source at the beginning maximizes impact

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5 Berlo, D. K., Lemert, J. B., & Mertz, R. J. (1969). Dimensions for evaluating the acceptability of message source. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 33,* 563–576. 6 McCroskey, J. C. & Teven, J. (1999). Goodwill: A re-examination of the construct and its measurement. *Communication Monographs, 66,* 90–103. 7 Burgoon, J., Birk, T. & Pfau, M. (1990). Nonverbal behaviors, persuasion, and credibility. *Human Communication Research, 17,* 140–169. RATIONAL AND EMOTIONAL APPEALS

Attitude is based upon, or generated from, three general classes of information: cognitive, affective, and (past) behavioral. Research is rapidly accumulating empirical evidence that persuasion is the result of both cognitive and affective processes. Hence, there are two general means to persuasion: rational appeal and emotional appeal. A rational appeal uses logical arguments and factual evidence to persuade individuals that the advocacy is viable and likely to result in the attainment of goals. An emotional appeal is designed to arouse emotions among the recipient and use the emotions as bases for persuasion.

- **Persuasion via rational appeal**: the cognitive response tradition of persuasion posits that the persuasive effectiveness of a message is a function of the individual’s cognitive responses to the message. If the overall cognitive response is positive, there will be persuasion; otherwise, the persuasive attempt fails or even boomerangs. Generally speaking, the success of a rational appeal thus depends on the strength and quality of arguments in the message, given that the recipient is able and motivated to process the message. Factual evidence can be in the form of statistics or personal testimonies. There is no evidence showing the advantage of one over the other. If either ability or motivation to process the message is low, recipients are less likely to scrutinize message arguments, but tend to be influenced by non-content features of message, for example, message modality, channel, source credibility, etc.

- **Persuasion via emotional appeal**: The most widely applied emotional appeal in persuasion is fear appeal. The term is sometimes interchangeable with the term threat appeal when the emphasis is on the informational content of the message, rather than the arousal it activates among the recipients. Meta-analyses have demonstrated strong evidence for the effectiveness of fear appeals. There is also evidence that guilt appeal is persuasive.

- **Fear appeal**: A typical fear appeal message has two components: the threat component and the recommendation component. The threat component should present the risk information: the severity of the risk and the individual’s susceptibility to this particular risk. The recommendation component presents the recommended behavior to cope with the risk: the response efficacy, which refers to the effectiveness of the recommendation in removing the threat, and self-efficacy, which refers to the individual’s capability to enact the recommended behavior.

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8 Zanna, M. P. & Rempel, J. K. (1988). Attitude: A new look at an old concept. In D. Bar-Tal & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), The social psychology of knowledge, 315–334. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 9 Nabi, R. (2002). Anger, fear, uncertainty, and attitudes, a test of the cognitive-functional model. Communication Monographs, 69, 204–216. 10 Stephenson, M. T. (2003). Examining adolescents’ responses to antimarijuana PSAs. Human Communication Research, 29, 243–369. 11 Albarracin, D., McNatt, P., Ho, R., Klein, C., Mitchell, A., & Kumkale, G. (2003). Persuasive communication to change actions: An analysis of behavioral and cognitive impact in HIV prevention. Health Psychology, 22, 166–177. 12 Eagle, A. H., & Chaiken. S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 13 Petty, R. E., Ostrom, T. M., & Brock, T. M. (1981) (Eds.), Cognitive responses in persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 14 Hornikx, J. (2005). A review of experimental research on the relative persuasiveness of anecdotal, statistical, causal and expert evidence. Studies in Communication Sciences, 5, 205–216. 15 Boster, F. & Mongeau, P. (1984). Fear-arousing persuasive messages. In R. N. Bostrom, & B. H. Westley (Eds.), Communication yearbook 8, 330–375. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. 16 Witte, K., & Allen, M. (2000). A meta-analysis of fear appeals: Implications for effective public health campaigns. Health Education & Behavior, 27, 591–615. 17 O’Keefe, D. (2002). Guilt as a mechanism of persuasion. In J. P. Dillard, & M. Pfau (Eds.), The persuasion handbook: Developments in theory and practice, 329–344. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. • **Guilt appeal:** A typical guilt appeal message has two components: One presents materials to evoke guilt through drawing attention to some existing inconsistencies between the recipients’ standards and actions, the other describes the recommended behavior or viewpoint, which is meant to offer the prospect of guilt reduction.

**RESISTANCE TO PERSUASION**

• **Psychological reactance:** When individuals perceive the messages as a restriction on their freedom to hold a particular attitude or to engage in certain behavior, they might experience psychological reactance and reject the message.(^{18,19}) Message features that could lead to reactance include: intention to persuade, illegitimacy, and language intensity.

• **Inoculation:** Resistance to persuasion can also be strategically induced to guard against counter persuasion. There is evidence that a simple forewarning induce resistance to persuasion.(^{20}) The inoculation model(^{21}) suggests that forewarning of possible future attacks on one’s attitude make individuals recognize the vulnerability of their attitude and motivate them to resist influence. Another component of inoculation is refutations pre-emption: It identifies possible counter-arguments, supplies refutations against possible attacks, and provides an operational model of attitude defense.

**COMPLIANCE-GAINING**

Persuasion also occurs in interpersonal settings, which is mainly compliance gaining. Wiseman and Schenck-Hamlin(^{22}) identified 14 compliance-gaining strategies:

1. **Ingratiation:** Actor’s offer of goods, sentiments, or services precedes the request for compliance.
2. **Promise:** Actor promises goods, sentiments, or services in exchange for compliance.
3. **Debt:** Actor recalls obligations owed to him or her as a way of inducing the target to comply.
4. **Esteem:** Target’s compliance will result in automatic increase of self-worth.
5. **Allurement:** Target’s reward arises from persons or conditions other than the actor.
6. **Aversive stimulation:** Actor continuously punishes target, making concessions contingent upon compliance.
7. **Threat:** Actor’s proposed actions will have negative consequences for the target if she or he does not comply.

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18 Dillard, J. P. & Shen, L. (2005). On the nature of reactance and its role in persuasive health communication. *Communication Monographs*, 72, 144–168. 19 Fogarty, J.S. (1997). Reactance theory and patient noncompliance. *Social Science & Medicine*, 45, 1277–1288. 20 Benoit, W. L. (1998). Forewarning and persuasion. In M. Allen, & R. W. Preiss (Eds.), *Persuasion: Advances through meta-analysis*, 139–154. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton. 21 Pfau, M. (1997). Inoculation model of resistance to influence. In G. A. Barnett & F. J. Boster (Eds.), *Progress in communication sciences: Advances in persuasion*, 13, 133–171. Greenwich, CT: Ablex. 22 Wiseman, R.L. & Schenck-Hamlin, W. (1981). A multi-dimensional scaling validation of an inductively-derived set of compliance-gaining strategies. *Communication Monographs*, 48, 251–270. 8. **Guilt**: Target’s failure to comply will result in automatic decrease of self-worth. 9. **Warning**: The target’s noncompliance could lead to circumstances in which other people become embarrassed, offended, or hurt. 10. **Altruism**: Actor requests the target to engage in behavior to benefit the actor. 11. **Direct request**: The actor simply asks the target to comply. 12. **Explanation**: Offer reasons for asking for the compliance. 13. **Hinting**: Actor represents the situational context in such a way that the target is led to conclude the desired action or response. 14. **Deceit**: Actor requests compliance by intentionally misrepresenting the characteristics of the desired response. This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about research in persuasion. Each section on the resource guide corresponds with a section on the Persuasion Participant Guide and contains three sections: additional textual resources, useful web resources, and useful media resources. The additional textual resources section provides references that offer a more in-depth understanding of the concept. The useful web resources section contains the URLs to websites that might be useful in teaching or researching the topic. The last section provides some resources on persuasion in general.

**Ethical Issues in Persuasion**

**ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES**

- Frymier, A.B., & Nadler, M.K. (2006). Ethics in persuasion. In *Persuasion: Integrating theory, research, and practice* (pp. 293–312). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
- Gass, R.H., & Seiter, J.S. (2006). The ethics of persuasion. In *Persuasion, social influence, and compliance gaining* (3rd Ed.) (pp. 348–369). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Guttman, N. (2003). Ethics in health communication interventions. In T. Thompson, A.M. Dorsey, K.I. Miller, & R. Parrott (Eds.), *Handbook of health communication* (pp. 651–679). Mahwah, NJ: LEA.
- Harvard Business School Essentials. (2005). Power, influence and persuasion. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
- Marlin, R. (2002). Propaganda and the ethics of persuasion. Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press.

**USEFUL WEB RESOURCES**

- [http://www.asph.org/UserFiles/Module6.pdf](http://www.asph.org/UserFiles/Module6.pdf)—This online document is a module by Dr. Ronald Bayer from Columbia University on ethical issues of health promotion and disease prevention.
- [http://www.refresher.com/chwpersuasion.html](http://www.refresher.com/chwpersuasion.html)—This website provides a CEO refresher on “three legs” of persuasion: Logos (logic), Pathos (passion), and Ethos (ethics).
- [http://www.workingpsychology.com/ethics2.html](http://www.workingpsychology.com/ethics2.html)—This website provides a taxonomy of levels of influence—the basis of the continuum. And upon examination, the continuum defies simple right-or-wrong categorization. Source Credibility in Persuasion

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Cialdibi, R.B. (2001). Authority: Directed Deference. In Influence: Science and practice (4th Ed.) (pp. 178–202). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
- Cialdibi, R.B. (2001). Liking: The friendly thief. In Influence: Science and practice (4th Ed.) (pp. 143–177). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
- Frymier, A.B., & Nadler, M.K. (2006). Source factors. In Persuasion: Integrating theory, research, and practice (pp. 183–206). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
- Gass, R.H., & Seiter, J.S. (2006). Communicator characteristics and persuadability. In Persuasion, social influence, and compliance gaining (3rd Ed.) (pp. 95–120). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Gass, R.H., & Seiter, J.S. (2006). Credibility. In Persuasion, social influence, and compliance gaining (3rd Ed.) (pp. 72–93). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- O’Keefe, D. (2002). Source factors. In Persuasion: Theory and research (2nd Ed.) (pp. 181–214). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Pratkanis, A.R. & Aronson, E. (2000). Communicator credibility: Real and manipulated. In Age of propaganda (pp. 121–156). New York: W. H. Freeman & Company.
- Stiff, J.B. & Mongeau, PA. (2003). Source characteristics in persuasive communication. In Persuasive communication (2nd Ed.) (pp. 103–126). New York: Guilford.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-sites.htm—This website provides hints to evaluate the credibility of websites.
- http://www.ciadvertising.org/SA/fall_03/adv382j/hartatis/source_credibility/sourcecredibility.html—This website offers a discussion of impact of source characteristics on advertisement.
- http://www.ciadvertising.org/student_account/spring_02/adv382j/mwald/source_credibility/index.htm—This website offers information about variables that impact source credibility, the effects of source credibility on persuasion and corporate credibility.

Rational and Emotional Appeals

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Frymier, A.B., & Nadler, M.K. (2006). Message factors: Content and style. In Persuasion: Integrating theory, research, and practice (pp. 207–238). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
- Gass, R.H., & Seiter, J.S. (2006). Motivational appeals. In Persuasion, social influence, and compliance gaining (3rd Ed.) (pp. 271–298). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- O’Keefe, D. (2002). Message factors. In Persuasion: Theory and research (2nd Ed.) (pp. 215–240). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Pratkanis, A.R. & Aronson, E. (2000). Emotional appeals: Touch the heart, persuade the mind. In Age of propaganda (pp. 207–260). New York: W. H. Freeman & Company. • Stiff, J.B. & Mongeau, PA. (2003). Persuasive message characteristics: Emotional appeals. In Persuasive communication (2nd Ed.) (pp. 145–164). New York: Guilford. • Stiff, J.B. & Mongeau, PA. (2003). Persuasive message characteristics: Rational appeals. In Persuasive communication (2nd Ed.) (pp. 127–144). New York: Guilford.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES • http://papyr.com/hbp/logos.htm—This website talks about various types of rational appeals. • http://www.cuyamaca.edu/bruce.thompson/fallacies/emotional.asp—This website has information on various types of emotional appeals. • http://www.fallacyfiles.org/emotiona.html—This website discusses different types of emotional appeals and related fallacies. • http://www.orwig.net/articles/rational_emotl/rational_emotl.html—This website offers a comparison of rational appeals vs. emotional appeals. • http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/main.html—This website discusses various ways to construct arguments in persuasion, including both rational and emotional appeals.

Resistance to Persuasion

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES • Brehm, S. & Brehm, J. (1981). Psychological reactance: a theory of freedom and control. New York: Academic Press. • Knowles, E.S. & linn, J.A. (2004). Resistance and Persuasion. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. • Pratkanis, A.R. & Aronson, E. (2000). Counteracting the tactics of propaganda. In Age of propaganda (pp. 329–356). New York: W. H. Freeman & Company. • Stiff, J.B. & Mongeau, PA. (2003). Producing and resisting influence messages. In Persuasive communication (2nd Ed.) (pp. 259–281). New York: Guilford.

Compliance Gaining

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES • Dillard, J.P., Anderson, J.W., & Knobloch, L.K. (2002). Interpersonal influence. M. Knapp & J. Daly (Eds.), The handbook of interpersonal communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. • Dillard, J.P. (Ed.). (1990). Seeking compliance: The production of interpersonal influence messages. Scottsdale, AZ: Gorsuch-Scarisbrick. • Wilson, S. (2002). Seeking and resisting compliance: Why people say what they do when trying to influence others. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Persuasion in General

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Allen, M. & R. Preiss, R. (1998). (Eds.), *Persuasion: Advances through meta-analysis*. Dubuque, IA: Brown & Benchmark.
- Brinol, P. & Petty, E. (2006). Fundamental processes leading to attitude change: Implications for cancer prevention communications. *Journal of Communication, 56*, 81–104.
- Burgoon, M., & Dillard, J.P. (Eds.) (1995). Special issue of Communication Research on Social Influence.
- Crano, W. & Prislin, R. (2005). Attitudes and persuasion. *Annual review of psychology, 57*, 345–374.
- Dillard, J.P., & Pfau, M. (Eds.) (2002). The persuasion handbook: Developments in theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Eagly, A.H. & Chaiken, S. (2005). Attitude research in the 21st century: The current state of knowledge. In D. Albarracin, B.T. Johnson, & M.P. Zanna (Eds.), *The handbook of attitudes* (pp. 743–767). Mahwah, NJ: LEA. Lobbying is defined as “… the art of educating and persuading your key audiences through direct, one-on-one contact” (Cohen, de la Vega, & Watson, 2001, p. 114). As such, it is an area of practice that draws on persuasive techniques directly relevant to carrying out reform initiatives. Cohen et al. further define lobbying as formal or informal. Examples of the former include meetings in legislators’ offices, and examples of the latter include engaging policymakers in the lobbies of legislative halls, networking events, or community meetings. Cohen (1999) makes a further distinction between public interest lobbying, motivated by a concern for the public good, and special interest lobbying, carried out on behalf of particular individuals or interest groups. This paper is motivated by a desire to support public interest lobbying efforts.

Because lobbying is an activity usually understood in the context of supporting special interests, many perceive it as illegitimate, geared toward exclusively supporting those with access to means and muscle. However, various pro-lobbying sources contend that it has its rightful place in competitive democratic societies by enabling individuals and groups to engage in the policymaking process in an organized, systematic manner. Moreover, supporting public interest lobbying efforts is the best antidote to what may be ill-willed pursuits of special interest groups. This contention can only be true if lobbying techniques are codified and widely disseminated for use by any party willing to fight for their democratically legitimate interests.

By gaining an understanding of the techniques of lobbying, we can map out strategies to manage the process by which a reform initiative moves from being a parochial interest of a particular group to securing a place on the larger elite-dominated governmental and decision making agendas that determine the rules by which we live, work, and play. Efforts at codifying the art and science of lobbying and its related activities include work of David Cohen and colleagues (2001), Benjamin Crosby and Deborah Orsini (1996), and Bob Smucker (1999).

Lobbying Approaches and Techniques

This paper summarizes three practical guides on lobbying. The information is ordered based on how specific the advice given, from more general points to more specific.

In “Developing Lobbying Capacity for Policy Reform”, Benjamin Crosby and Deborah Orsini (1996) provide a framework that lends itself well to the approaches and techniques paradigm. As an approach, the paper defines lobbying as “… the effort of individuals or groups of interests to influence policy makers directly and thereby the legislative and regulatory actions of government” (p. 1, 1996). Crosby and Orsini’s techniques for building lobbying expertise are organized under the following categorization: • Identification of priority themes and issues: Themes and issues must be prioritized, after which those that are indispensable must be classified and specified. Clear prioritization criteria and methods should be adopted, which can be created via small informal working groups. Resource scarcity requires unwavering focus on priority issues, which should be informed by an agreed upon assessment of the group’s needs as well as the policy environment. To assure consistency across its membership, a group’s adopted position should be codified in a moderate formal statement which is “concise, clear, factual, and moderate in tone” (p. 3).

• (Gaining a) full understanding of the issue: Lobbyists should acquire a solid and clear understanding of the issue in concern, which includes a grasp of opposing positions. Requisite expertise can be developed in-house or through external partners/consultants.

• (Gaining) a full understanding of the policy decision-making process with respect to the issue: The entire process of rulemaking as regards the particular policy must be intimately understood. This understanding should include who the players are, what the rules are on paper, how and in what sequence they are implemented, and how they are broken. Other ways in which the process can be influenced that may not be stated in the formal rules should also be seriously considered, such as public hearings, legal opinions, etc. There are a number of methods for mapping out legislative processes, such as “policy network analysis; decisional process mapping; decisional structure analysis [please see memo entitled “political analysis for reform” for elaborations of these techniques]; or through a step by step outline of the process that an initiative or bill must pass to become a law or regulation” (p. 4).

• Identify the key decision-makers and actors: The critical piece of knowledge is “who makes the decision?” (p. 5). In addition, the key decision maker is surrounded by networks of groups and individuals. Each of these has incentive and disincentive sets. Lobbyists must take note of key advisors to decision makers and legislators’ past record on the issue, e.g., voting records.

• Comprehend the political environment: The balance of friendly and hostile interests of various groups determines in large part the overall political environment surrounding an issue. In some contexts, the “balance of forces can be quite precarious, and may shift from one position to another with unexpected speed” (p. 5). Periodically monitoring the environment, therefore, is a necessary activity for lobbyists. Monitoring mechanisms include macro- or micro political mapping and force-field analysis.

• Understand the group’s strength and limitations: A group should identify what it possesses that has the power to “make the decision-maker sit up and take notice” (p. 6), whether it be special social status, capacity to mobilize financial resources and/or mobilize large numbers of constituents. The needs of policymakers should be weighed against organizational capacities to fulfill them and vice-versa. Individuals personally representing the group’s interests to policymakers should “be credible, possess strong communication skills and the ability to listen” (p. 6).

From the foundational elements of lobbying listed above, we now turn to Bob Smucker’s (1999) work on lobbying which provides a more specific, “how to” approach to nonprofit advocacy work. Smucker first describes the knowledge base an organization must acquire and moves on to building capacity in effective communications, which is “the key to mobilizing your lobbying strength” (p. 16).

With regard to acquiring knowledge for lobbying, the following should be studied until well understood, and information should be updated when needed: lobbying law; the legislative process (introducing legislation, etc.); legislative leadership (and choosing legislative champion); and lobbying the administration (enlisting help from the Legislature and the press).

Effective communications capacity requires understanding the strengths and limitations of various media, using a combination of the following most appropriate to the lobby effort: communications technologies (e-mail; websites; faxes; telephone routing systems; zip code matching); and keeping track of the lobby effort and maintaining a proactive stance (feedback; tallies of support; frequency of alerts; staying with the process).

Communicating with legislators requires a tailored approach to each person targeted for lobbying. The following media can be helpful in reaching out to particular policymakers: letters; personal visits; testimony; phone calls; e-mail and faxes; telegrams, mailgrams, and form letters. Organizational elements include the following: Legislative networks; coalitions; and government relations committees. These organizational forms require constant cultivation. Lobbying can also be carried out through the media. The following can be helpful in this regard: press releases; press conferences; letters to the editor; radio and TV broadcasts.

In *Advocacy for Social Justice: A Global Action and Reflection Guide*, David Cohen et al. (2001) provide a practical step-by-step guide to persuading “lobbying targets”, i.e., legislators and other decision-makers. Assuming that one has access to such a target, the following steps should be taken (reproduced from Cohen et al, 2001, p. 114-117):

**BEFORE THE LOBBY VISIT**

- **Prepare the delegation**: Who should participate? Does everyone in the delegation share the same point of view? Does everyone know when to meet and where, what to wear, and what to bring?
- **Prepare your presentation**: What is our issue? What are the main points? What issues should not be discussed? What is negotiable? What do we have to offer our audience? How will we open the meeting? Who will play which role during the meeting? How will delegation members be introduced?
- **Practice your presentation**: Consider using role-play exercises that will approximate the professional/social context in which the lobby visit will occur.
- **Prepare your materials**: a summary of the issue and your main points; your contact information.

**DURING THE LOBBY VISIT**

- **Build relationships** – develop new relationships or strengthen existing ones: Allow time in the beginning of the visit for small talk, but not too much. Maintain a tone of courtesy and respect; even if you disagree on this issue, they may support you on a future one. Build relationship for the future.

- **Listen and collect information**: What issues are important to your audience? What points do you agree/disagree on? Common goals? If your audience is a “silent type”, ask questions.

- **Educate and provide information**: Offer information that will strengthen or contradict your audience’s opinion (depending on your persuasive goal). You don’t have to be an expert, and it is likely that your audience isn’t one either – many elected officials are generalists. However… you may be able to be accompanied by someone who is an expert on the issue. It’s OK to say “I don’t know” and offer to follow up with information after the meeting.

- **Persuade**: Be open to counterarguments but don’t get stuck on them. Don’t be argumentative or confrontational. Stay on your point. Look for openings to bring the discussion back to your point. Use the right argument. Is your audience persuaded by logic? Statistics? Personal stories? “Close the deal.” After you have made a request and have listened to your audience’s reply, ask for a specific action. At minimum, make it difficult for your audience to say “no.”

- **Keep the following tips in mind**: Be on time; don’t stay too long; keep it simple (no technical jargon, one to two issues); take notes; don’t become argumentative or push your point so much that your audience stops listening. AFTER THE LOBBY VISIT

- Debrief with the delegation and report back to your constituency and allies.

- **Follow-up with:** A thank you letter repeating your understanding of the commitments made during the meeting. Send info if offered or requested. Send thank you letters to staff who helped arrange the meeting.

- Celebrate, cognizant of the fact that successful lobby visits not only support reform efforts directly but are also powerful learning experience that enhance the professional capacities of reform agents.

References

Cohen, D., de la Vega, R., & Watson, G. (2001). *Advocacy for social justice: A global action and reflection guide*. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, Inc.

Cohen, D. (1999). Being a public interest lobbyist is something to write home about. In B. Smucker [Ed.], *The Nonprofit Lobbying Guide, 2nd Ed.* (pp. 94–103). Washington, D.C.: Independent Sector. Accessed on July 2007 through http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/lobbyguide.html.

Crosby, B. L. & Orsini, D. M. (1996). Developing lobbying capacity for policy reform. *Implementing Policy Change Project*. Washington, D.C.: United States Agency for International Development. Accessed on June 2007 through (http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/democracy_and_governance/publications/ipc/tn-7.pdf).

Smucker, B. (1999). *The Nonprofit Lobbying Guide, 2nd Ed.* Washington, D.C.: Independent Sector. Accessed on July 2007 through http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/lobbyguide.html.

Additional Resources for Public Interest Lobbyists

- Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (http://www.clpi.org/Home_Final.aspx)
- Advocacy Center at ISC (http://www.advocacy.org/index.htm)
- American League of Lobbyists (http://www.alldc.org/publicresources/lobbying.cfm)
- Independent Sector (http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/advocacy_lobbying.htm) How Do You Define Non-Verbal Communication?

Communication is generally defined as having both a verbal and nonverbal component. Whereas verbal communication often refers to the words we use in communication, nonverbal communication refers to communication that is produced by some means other than words (eye contact, body language, or vocal cues, for example) (Knapp & Hall, 2002). The five primary functions of Nonverbal Behavior (Argyle, 1988) are:

1. **Expression of Emotion**—emotions are expressed mainly through the face, body, and voice.
2. **Communication of Interpersonal Attitudes**—the establishment and maintenance of relationships if often done through nonverbal signals (tone of voice, gaze, touch, etc.).
3. **Accompany and Support Speech**—vocalization and nonverbal behaviors are synchronized with speech in conversation (nodding one's head or using phrases like “uh-huh” when another is talking).
4. **Self-Presentation**—presenting oneself to another through nonverbal attributes like appearance.
5. **Rituals**—the use of greetings, handshakes or other rituals.

Traditional Dimensions of Nonverbal Communication

- **Physical Appearance**—Appearance messages are generally the first nonverbal messages received and can be used to develop judgments about people based on how they look, what they wear, and their level of attractiveness, among other things (Virginia P. Richmond & McCroskey, 2004). Physical attractiveness impacts how people perceive others as similar to themselves and is used to evaluate credibility and general attractiveness (Hickson III & Stacks, 1993).

______________________________________________________________________

1. Knapp, M. L., & Hall, J. A. (2002). *Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction*. Crawfordsville, IN: Thomson Learning.
2. Argyle, M. (1988). *Bodily Communication*, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Methuen.
3. Richmond, V. P., & McCroskey, J. C. (2004). *Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations*. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon/Pearson Education.
4. Hickson III, M. L., & Stacks, D. W. (1993). *NVC Nonverbal Communication Studies and Applications*. Dubuque, IA: Wm C. Brown Communications. • **Territory and Personal Space (Proxemics)**—Personal space refers to the space an individual maintains around him or herself, while territory is a larger area an individual controls that can provide privacy (for example, an office or a specific chair in the conference room). Invading another’s territory may cause that person discomfort and the desire to defend his or her space (by turning away or creating a barrier, for example) (Argyle, 1988). Culture can influence the way that individuals use space. Individualist societies like the United States emphasize personal rights and responsibilities, privacy, and freedom, whereas more collectivist societies emphasize community and collaboration (Andersen, Hecht, Hoobler, & Smallwood, 2002).

• **Facial Expressions**—The most important non-verbal channel for expressing attitudes and emotions to other people is the face (Argyle, 1988). Researchers have attempted to categorize facial expressions that express emotion and typically agree on six: happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, anger, disgust/contempt. (Ekman, 1982 cited by Argyle, 1988).

• **Gestures & Posture**—Gestures and postures are frequent and continuous movements of the body that reflect individual thought processes and regulate communication (Goldman, 1994). For body language to be interpreted as positive and genuine, it is important that it appear to be natural. Lewis (1998) suggests individuals stand erect and walk with shoulders back and stomach in. This helps communicate a message of self-confidence, awareness, and enthusiasm.

• **Touch (Tactile Communication)**—Argyle (1988) writes that “the most basic meaning of touch is that an interpersonal bond is being offered or established” (p. 226). While touch can be used for consolation, support, and congratulations depending on the relationship, touch is often culturally regulated in organizations (Harris, 2002) meaning it may be regulated to behaviors such as handshakes. Touch, like any other communication message, may elicit negative and positive reactions depending on the configuration of people and the circumstances (Knapp and Hall, 2002).

• **Eye Contact**—Eye contact regulates conversation and signals the exchange of speaker and listener roles. It occurs during 10–30% of the conversation. Eye contact is used to acknowledge or avoid the presence of others and can reveal information about attitudes, emotion, dominance and power in social relationships. When there are breakdowns in conversation it may be because the people conversing have different patterns of eye contact (which can be a result of differing cultural backgrounds). When individuals respond with their eyes they allow others to have a sense of their emotional state and can increase feelings of communication satisfaction (Webbink, 1986).

• **Vocal Cues that Accompany Speech (Paralanguage)**—Vocal cues include intonation, voice quality and vocal emphasis and that can enhance verbal meaning. Laughing and crying are also considered vocal cues. These cues may reveal an emotional state, attitudes towards others, social class, or origin. Individuals may exercise dominance with a loud projecting voice and indicate submission by using a lower, softer pitch. When communicating verbally it is important to ensure that the paralanguage aligns with the verbal messages it accompanies (Lewis, 1998).

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5 Andersen, P. A., Hecht, M. L., Hoobler, G. D., & Smallwood, M. (2002). Nonverbal communication across cultures. In W. B. Gudykunst & B. Moody (Eds.), *Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

6 Ekman, P. (1982). *Emotion in the Human Face*, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

7 Goldman, E. (1994). *As Others See Us*. New York, NY: Routledge.

8 Lewis, H. (1998). *Body Language: A Guide for Professionals*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

9 Harris, T. E. (2002). *Applied Organizational Communication: Principles and Pragmatics for Future Practice*. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Association.

10 Webbink, P. (1986). *The Power of Eyes*. New York, NY: Springer Publishing. • **Time (Chronemics)** — The way an individual talks about or uses time can communicate much non-verbal information about him or her. Individuals may view time as the location or duration of events, the interval between events, or as patterns of intervals (routines or cycles of behavior) (Knapp & Hall, 2002). Individuals may also have differing psychological time orientations that influence how they think about and perceive time in their daily lives. Individuals may be more past-oriented, using the past to shape the present, or future-oriented, working towards tomorrow. Individuals can also be present-oriented, living mostly for today. Culture can play a role in determining time orientation, so it is important to be aware of these differences and their potential impact on communication (Virginia P. Richmond & McCroskey, 2004).

### Selected Principles of Nonverbal Communication in Organizations (as cited by Harris, 2002)

- **People judge relationship quality through nonverbal cues** (Hickson & Stacks, 1985; Remland, 2000).
- Nonverbal communication is more believable than verbal communication when the two are incongruent (Knapp, 1972; Malandro & Barker, 1983; Mehrabian, 1981). Therefore, individuals should concentrate on making nonverbal behavior consistent with our desired messages (Hackman & Johnson, 2000).
- Inadvertent actions by an individual can still be meaningful to another person. Nonverbal communication can be assigned meaning even if only by one party (Hickson & Stacks, 1985).
- Perception is an important part of nonverbal communication. We can send positive messages to others by paying more attention to them and utilizing non-verbal behaviors that show immediacy such as forward leans, relaxed posture, or decreased distance (Hickson & Stacks, 1985).
- Rules for nonverbal behavior often vary depending on age, sex, and culture (Berko, Wolvin, & Wolvin, 1985). Context, social situation, and power relationships may also determine the rules and the roles for nonverbal communication (Anderson, 1999; Henley, 1979; Remland, 2000). Members of an organization will learn and adapt nonverbal communication as they become part of the organizational culture (Wilson, Goodall, & Waagen, 1986).
- In informal organizational settings, nonverbal communication is more important than verbal communication as power or affiliation may be shown through nonverbal communication (Richmond, McCroskey, & Payne, 1987).

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11 Hickson III, M. L., & Stacks, D. W. (1993). *NVC Nonverbal Communication Studies and Applications*. Dubuque, IA: Wm C. Brown Communications. 12 Remland, M. S. (2000). *Nonverbal Communication in Everyday Life*. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 13 Knapp, M. L. (1972). *Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction*. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 14 Malandro, L. A., & Barker, L. (1983). *Nonverbal Communication*. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 15 Mehrabian, A. (1981). *Silent Messages: Implicit Communication of Emotions and Attitudes* (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 16 Hackman, M. Z., & Johnson, C. E. (2000). *Leadership: A Communication Perspective*, 3rd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland. 17 Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A. D., & Wolvin, D.R. (1985). *Communicating: A Social and Career Focus*. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 18 Anderson, P. A. (1999). *Nonverbal Communication: Forms and Functioning*. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. 19 Henley, N. M. (1979). *Body Politics: Power, sex, and nonverbal communication*. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 20 Wilson, G. L, Goodall, H. L., Jr., & Waagen, C.L. (1986). *Organizational Communication*. New York: Harper & Row. 21 Richmond, V. P., McCroskey, J. C, & Payne, S. K. (1987). *Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations*. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Leadership and Nonverbal Communication

- A leader’s ability to decode follower’s feelings and attitudes and communicate support and motivation are key to their success. Charismatic leaders are typically good at decoding the nonverbal cues of others and are able to read and respond to the needs of their followers (Riggio, 2005).22
- Richmond and McCroskey (2004)3 write that one of the roles of nonverbal communication is to define the status of individuals within an organization. Dominance and power are conveyed through nonverbal cues including eye contact, posture, speaking time, and seating placement (Bass, 1990; Heckel, 1973; Mast, 2002; Mehrabian, 1969; Mullen, Salas, & Driskell, 1989 cited by Riggio, 2005).22,23,24,25,26
- Burgoon and Dunbar (2000)27 report that exhibiting power or dominance in interpersonal communication is linked to individual social skills as well as to the situation and relationships that people have with others.
- Aguinis, Simonson, and Pierce (1998)28 report that nonverbal behaviors do impact perceptions of power. They report that facial expressions impacted the perception of five bases of power (reward, referent, legitimate, expert, and credibility) particularly when a relaxed facial expression was used. Direct eye contact had an effect on ratings of credibility.
- Interpersonal dominance may be characterized as having five interrelated dimensions, many of which are communicated nonverbally. The five dimensions include: persuasiveness or influence, conveying focus and poise, conversational control, and self-assurance (J. Burgoon & Johnson, 1998).29

Impression Formation and Management of Nonverbal Communication (Leathers, 1997)30

- Impression Management is an individual’s conscious attempt at control over communication behaviors and cues for the purposes of making a desired impression (often with nonverbal communication).

22 Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass & Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership, 3rd ed. New York: Free Press. 23 Heckel, R. V. (1973). Leadership and voluntary seating choice. Psychological Reports, 32, 141–142. 24 Mast, M. S. (2002). Dominance as expressed and inferred through speaking time: A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 28, 420–450. 25 Mehrabian, A. (1969). Significance of posture and position in the communication of attitude and status relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 71, 359–372. 26 Mullen, B., Salas, E., & Driskell, J.E. (1989). Salience, motivation, and artifact as contributions to the relation between participation rate and leadership. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 545–559. 27 Burgoon, J. K., & Dunbar, N. E. (2000). An interactionist perspective on dominance-submission: Interpersonal dominance as a dynamic, situationally contingent social skill. Communication Monographs, 67:1, 96. 28 Aguinis, H., Simonsen, M., & Pierce, C. A. (1998). Effects of nonverbal behavior on perceptions of power bases. The Journal of Social Psychology, 138, 455–469. 29 Burgoon, J., & Johnson, M. L. (1998). The nature and measurement of interpersonal dominance. Communication Monographs, 65:4, 308. 30 Leathers, D. G. (1997). Successful Nonverbal Communication: Principles and Applications. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. • Two functions important for impression management: 1) *Presentational function* (consciously trying to control the impression he/she makes on the person with whom he/she is communicating with), and 2) *Affect management* (consciously controlling your emotional response) (Patterson, 1987 cited by Leathers, 1997).31

• The impressions we make on others are defined by four dimensions: credibility (how competent and trustworthy you are), likeability (that another will judge you likable), interpersonal attractiveness, dominance (showing power and assertiveness). (Ross, 1998 cited by Leathers, 1997).32

• The kind of person you are judged to be is influenced more by nonverbal than verbal cues. When we make judgments about others we typically give disproportionate weight to nonverbal behaviors and cues than to their actions (for example, looking at their posture to judge their level of self confidence).

• Factors that influence the impressions we form about other people: a) *Stereotypes* that we hold about individuals that belong to certain groups; b) *First impressions* that might affect all subsequent perceptions and may be resistant to change; c) *Selective perceptions* whereby we pay attention to things that are consistent with our own past experiences and concerns; and d) *Last impressions* in which we disproportionately weigh the influence of an individual’s most recent action or our last contact with the individual.

31 Patterson, M. L. (1987). Presentational and affect-management functions of nonverbal behavior. *Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 11*, 110–122.

32 Ross, C. S. (1998). *Image Dimensions and Impression Managers’ Perception of Nonverbal Behavior*. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. Non-Verbal Communication

This resource list is designed for those planning to incorporate theory and research on non-verbal communication into their training practice. Included are suggested textbooks, journals, and websites that offer information beyond the participant handout. Additionally, this guide provides a list of teaching aids helpful for teaching non-verbal communication principles.

Suggested Non-Verbal Communication Textbooks

Textbooks provide one of the best sources of information for instructors new to the study of non-verbal communication. While many of these books are geared towards academic settings, the textbooks listed here are more applicable to professionals. Many of these were also used in preparation of these materials.

- Andersen, P.A., Hecht, M.L., Hoobler, G.D., & Smallwood, M. (2002). Nonverbal communication across cultures. In W.B. Gundykunst & B. Moody (Eds.), Handbook of International and intercultural communication. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.
- Guerrero, L.K., DeVito, J.A., & Hecht, M.L. (Eds.). (1999). The Nonverbal Communication Reader: Classic and Contemporary Readings (2nd ed.). Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press. (Guerrero, DeVito, & Hecht, 1999).
- Knapp, M.L., & Hall, J.A. (2005). Nonverbal communication in Human Interaction. Belmont, CA: Wads-worth Publishing. (Knapp & Hall, 2005).
- Leathers, D.G. (1997). Successful nonverbal communication: Principles and applications. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. (Leathers, 1997).
- Richmond, V.P., & McCroskey, J.C. (2004). Nonverbal behavior in interpersonal relations. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon/Pearson Education, Inc. (Virginia P. Richmond & McCroskey, 2004).

Popular Non-Verbal Communication Books

In addition to textbooks, academic and popular press books offer a more applied approach to non-verbal communication. Listed below are recent books on the topic of nonverbal communication that may be helpful for training purposes and learning more about nonverbal communication.

- Argyle, M. (1988). Bodily Communication (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Methuen, Inc.
- Calero, Henry (2005). The Power of Non-Verbal Communication: What You Do Is More Important Than What you say. Non-Verbal Communication Journals and Recommended Articles

Journals are where most cutting-edge and classic research in non-verbal communication resides. Below is a list of journals that publish research on non-verbal communication, as well as some relevant articles.

JOURNALS

- Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. Springer Netherlands
- More information and online access available at www.springerlink.com

ARTICLES

- Aguinis, H., Simonsen, M., & Pierce, C.A. (1998). Effects of nonverbal behavior on perceptions of power bases. The Journal of Social Psychology, 138, 455–469. (Aguinis et al., 1998).
- Elfenbein, H.A. (2006). Learning in emotion judgments: Training and the cross-cultural understanding of facial expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. See also Marco Pacori’s web library on body language, available at http://www.linguaggiodelcorpo.it/english/frame_down.htm.
- Mehrabian, A. (1969). Significance of posture and position in the communication of attitude and status relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 71, 359–372. (Mehrabian, 1969; Patterson, 1987).
- Patterson, M.L. (1987). Presentational and affect-management functions of nonverbal behavior. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 11, 110–122.

Helpful websites on Non-Verbal Communication

- Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, and Body Language Cues http://members.aol.com/nonverbal2/diction1.htm This interesting site is maintained by David Givens of the Center for Non-Verbal Studies and provides a dictionary of common non-verbal behaviors.

- Exploring Nonverbal Communication (University of California at Santa Cruz) http://nonverbal.ucsc.edu/ This site offers short learning modules on non-verbal communication. The site offers videos and instructors available for purchase online which may be helpful in training nonverbal communication skills.

- Michael Hecht’s Nonverbal Communication Research Page http://www.geocities.com/marvin_hecht/nonverbal.htm This comprehensive website, designed by Michael Hecht, provides links to nonverbal communication scholars, journals, and is a resource for people working in the field of nonverbal communication.

- National Communication Association http://www.natcom.org/ctronline/nonverb.html The National Communication Association, a professional site for communication scholars, lists a variety of non-verbal communication resources, websites, and researchers in the field.

- Nonverbal Behavior/Nonverbal Communication Links http://www3.usal.es/~nonverbal/introduction.htm This site is one of the most comprehensive on the web. Developed by Jaume Masip it offers a variety of resources including links to scholars, research centers, publications, and journals among other things. Andrews, Matthew. 2004. “Authority, Acceptance, Ability and Performance-Based Budgeting Reforms.” International Journal of Public Sector Management 17: 332–44.

Creating Space for Effective Political Engagement in Development. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 95–111). Washington, D.C. The World Bank.

Cruz, A., 2009, "Building Political Will for Enhanced Access to Information: Lessons from Latin America," Chapter 13 in From Political Wont to Political Will: Building Support for Participatory Governance, ed. C. Malena, Civicus. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3751

How can citizens’ groups and other stakeholders build political will for the approval and enactment of right to information laws? By analysing experience in Honduras, Nicaragua, Chile and Uruguay, this book chapter from Civicus explores how political will was built to pass access to information laws. It also looks at the challenges of implementation, arguing that the adoption of legislation is merely an important first step. It will mean little if government, encouraged by informed citizens, does not implement the laws.

Khemani, S., 2007, “Can Information Campaigns Overcome Political Obstacles to Serving the Poor?” Chapter 5 in The Politics of Service Delivery in Democracies - Better Access for the Poor, eds. S. Devarajan and I. Widlund, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden, Stockholm http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3708

This book chapter from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs reviews the literature on information campaigns and the role of mass media in influencing public policy. There is a role for information campaigns to shift political platforms away from inefficiently targeted programmes towards broader public policies that promote development.

TECHNICAL BRIEFS

Post, L., Eric Raile & Amber Raile (2008). Defining Political Will, 2008

Post, L., C. Salmon, & A. Raile (2008). Using Public Will to Secure Political Will. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 95–111). Washington, D.C. The World Bank.

CommGAP (n.d.) Persuasion. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/Persuasionweb.pdf

CommGAP (n.d.) Persuasion, Facilitator’s Guide

CommGAP (n.d.) Non-Verbal Communication. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/NonverbalCommweb.pdf

CommGAP (n.d.) Non-Verbal Communication, Facilitator’s Guide

CommGAP (2007) Lobbying for the Public Interest, Research Brief VIDEOS

George Khroda, University of Nairobi, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 6:00 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRxyZRd55-Y

Ashutosh Varshney, Professor of Political Science, Brown University, ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques’, CommGAP 2009, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 1:27 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT_XoqJgl-E&feature=youtu.be

Matt Uzzell, Adam Smith International. ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 4:27 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAnm7KK-FEM

Persuasion, Graphical Animation, CommGAP. Produced by the World Bank Institute, 2010. Running time: 3:35 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgqKVAbz2ls This session examines the challenge of securing organizational will in governance reform programs and the importance of enlisting the support of middle managers in reform process. As the ‘transmission belt’ between the top and bottom layers of an organization, middle managers can make or break the reform process; the latter occurring when their role is marginalized and their support overlooked. Organizational change processes, which encompass improving systems and transforming embedded individual behavior patterns, can be met with hostile opposition or quiet resistance. We demonstrate how middle managers, given leadership and managerial capabilities, can more effectively be empowered to be productive partners in governance reform initiatives.

Key Concepts and Messages

- Securing organizational will is vital to a successful change effort.
- Middle managers drive the reform process both internally and externally. They play a critical role in implementing reform and sustaining momentum in the change process.
- Communication approaches and techniques can be utilized to build the trust and support of middle managers in the reform process.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

- Assess the systemic role of public sector middle managers in governance reform,
- Determine the types of middle managers according to the two primary dimensions of empowerment and inclusion
- Consider and apply the appropriate communication techniques which can lead to effective outcomes. Exercises: Small Group Work - Perceptions on Middle Managers in Reform Role play - Senior managers vs Middle Managers - Understanding Roles and Perspectives

Session Length: 90 minutes

Teaching Notes and Process Guide

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|-------------------------------------|

[Two active buttons here, side by side :]

Play Slideshow

Download Presentation File

*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* IDENTIFYING THE ROLE OF MIDDLE MANAGERS

Small Group Work

TIME ALLOTTED: 30 MINUTES

PURPOSE To share their real-world perspectives on the role of middle managers when implementing reform, and to explore communication-based solutions that can effectively address internal resistance to change and organizational-will challenges in reform.

PROCESS

1. Ask participants to break into small groups of four to five people.
2. Post the slide (Slide No. 7) with guide questions on the screen. • Based on your experience, what is your perception of Middle Managers and their role in the reform process? • What are the most common causes for resistance to change?

Other discussion questions that may be asked: • Name a change process that you were proud of. • What factors contributed to its success? • What were the key challenges you faced in the change process?

Ask the participants to write their responses on a sheet of paper or flipchart. Debrief in plenary, asking each group to share 2-3 key challenges discussed by their team. GAINING SUPPORT OF MIDDLE MANAGERS

Role Play

TIME ALLOTTED: 45 MINUTES

PURPOSE To provide experiential learning by giving participants the opportunity to step into the shoes of a senior manager or a middle manager based on the reform context described in the case study on the Metro Sarangaya Water Reform Project. The exercise will elicit perspectives from individuals operating in each organizational role, and illustrate how their respective positions can influence views on the nature of the problems and how to address them.

PROCESS Each participant is to be assigned a specific role to play, either as a senior manager or middle manager of a water authority. From the information provided to them earlier in the sessions (i.e. research findings on the role of middle managers), participants should be able to validate which of the descriptions they consider to be most relevant in their organizational context. The process is as follows:

1. Form at least six groups composed of four or five participants per group. Create a paired group with one group playing the role of middle managers and another group taking the role of senior managers. Each paired group becomes one universe. Each universe will be assigned to role play interacting with one type of middle manager. There will be three types of middle managers, namely: the compliant middle manager, the apathetic middle manager, and the resistant middle manager.

See chart below:

| UNIVERSE A | UNIVERSE B | UNIVERSE C | |------------|------------|------------| | Compliant Middle Manager | Apathetic Middle Manager | Resistant Middle Manager | | Middle Manager | Group 1 | Group 3 | Group 5 | | Senior Manager | Group 2 | Group 4 | Group 6 | 2. Show Slide 10 and ask each universe to first write 5 things that will make their joint work on the Sarangaya water reform more effective. (7 minutes) For senior managers, write 5 things that senior managers can do to make the reform successful. For middle managers, write 5 things that middle managers would like Senior Managers to do to make the reform successful. • In each universe, the middle managers share their list with the senior managers and explore similarities and differences. (7 minutes) • In each universe, the group of senior managers and middle managers, jointly agree on the top three things that both middle managers and senior managers can do to make their joint work on the Sarangaya water reform more effective.

3. Upon completion of the group discussion in each universe, ask two or three members of the middle managers and two or three members of the senior managers to join another universe. As new members join the universe, ask the incoming members to share the results of their discussions in their previous universe, and the rest of the members of the group of middle managers and senior managers can compare the experience of the incoming members with their own from earlier discussions.

4. Open the floor for a plenary discussion involving all universes.

5. Summarize the main points and observations made by the participants. You may Conclude by highlighting the communication-based approaches that may be deployed to deal with possible resistance to change and gain the support of middle managers in the reform process. Facilitator’s Note – Themes that may emerge from discussions\*

| Middle Managers | Senior Managers | |-----------------|-----------------| | “What can Senior Managers do to improve work conditions/relations?” | “As Senior Managers, what can we do to improve work conditions/relations?” |

**COMPLIANT Middle Managers:**

- (More) Training
- Empowerment: Recognition, more power and increased ability to make decisions
- Improve work environment: Coffee machines, laptops, air conditioning, government vehicles, and direct dial
- Increase allowances

**APATHETIC Middle Managers:**

- Incentive package
- Salary increase/ performance
- Higher operating budget
- Job security
- Discharge package where necessary
- Capacity building, training
- Involvement in the reform process
- Clear job description

**RESISTANT Middle Managers:**

- Improve internal communications

- Increase transparency in procurement systems

- Make recruitment and promotion system transparent

- Provide clear job descriptions with measurable results

- Clear reward system for good results

- Clear, documented rules on allowances for extra work

- Convene a meeting

- Help them understand the importance of the reform

- Point out their rights

- Encourage them to share their views

- Describe the difficulty of undertaking reform

- Share your vision

- Appreciate their interests

- Allow them to get involved and participate in the reform process

- Increase awareness of reform goals and processes and provide training

- Describe the benefits of reform

- Acknowledge the expertise of middle managers

- Allay fears about change

- Assign roles and responsibilities

- Build and strengthen team spirit

- Identify influential adversaries

*Source: CommGAP workshops in Africa (2008) and Asia (2009).* GAINING SUPPORT OF MIDDLE MANAGERS—EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS

Your Role: Senior Manager

You are a member of the senior management team in the Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA), you have to work with a few middle managers who may feel resistant and too bureaucratic about the current reform. (See the case for more information on the situation in MSWA. The Middle Managers are: Assistant Directors of Engineering, Finance, Revenue, Treatment and Quality Control, Regulation and Corporate Development, Operations, Project Delivery, Human Resource and Corporate Services).

Instructions:

1. Create a list of 5 things you will do to make your joint work with the middle managers on the water sector reform more effective.
2. Share your list with the group of middle managers and explore similarities and differences.
3. As one group now, identify the top 3 things that you agree will help make your joint work on the water sector reform more effective. Prepare to report those 3 things and also highlights / insights of the discussion between your two groups. GAINING SUPPORT OF MIDDLE MANAGERS—EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS

Your Role: Senior Manager

You are a member of the senior management team in the Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA), you have to work with a few middle managers who may feel apathetic about the current reform. (See the case for more information on the situation in MSWA. The Middle Managers are: Assistant Directors of Engineering, Finance, Revenue, Treatment and Quality Control, Regulation and Corporate Development, Operations, Project Delivery, Human Resource and Corporate Services).

Instructions:

1. Create a list of 5 things you will do to make your joint work with the middle managers on the water sector reform more effective – 7 min.
2. Share your list with the group of middle managers and explore similarities and differences – 7 min.
3. As one group now, identify the top 3 things that you agree will help make your joint work on the water sector reform more effective. Prepare to report those 3 things and also highlights / insights of the discussion between your two groups – 6 min. GAINING SUPPORT OF MIDDLE MANAGERS—EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS

Your Role: Senior Manager

You are a member of the senior management team in the Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA), you have to work with a few middle managers who may feel compliant and have no initiative about the current reform.

(See the case for more information on the situation in MSWA. The Middle Managers are: Assistant Directors of Engineering, Finance, Revenue, Treatment and Quality Control, Regulation and Corporate Development, Operations, Project Delivery, Human Resource and Corporate Services).

Instructions:

1. Create a list of 5 things you will do to make your joint work with the middle managers on the water sector reform more effective.
2. Share your list with the group of middle managers and explore similarities and differences.
3. As one group now, identify the top 3 things that you agree will help make your joint work on the water sector reform more effective. Prepare to report those 3 things and also highlights / insights of the discussion between your two groups. GAINING SUPPORT OF MIDDLE MANAGERS—EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS

Your Role: Middle Manager

You are a middle manager in the Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA) and you have to work with a team of senior managers of the MSWA, given the recent developments in the water sector reform you may feel resistant and too bureaucratic about it. (See the case for more information on the situation in MSWA. The Middle Managers are: Assistant Directors of Engineering, Finance, Revenue, Treatment and Quality Control, Regulation and Corporate Development, Operations, Project Delivery, Human Resource and Corporate Services).

Instructions:

1. Create a list of 5 things the team of senior managers should do to make your joint work with the team of senior managers on the water sector reform more effective.
2. Share your list with the group of middle managers and explore similarities and differences.
3. As one group now, identify the top 3 things that you agree will help make your joint work on the water sector reform more effective. Prepare to report those 3 things and also highlights / insights of the discussion between your two groups. GAINING SUPPORT OF MIDDLE MANAGERS—EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS

Your Role: Middle Manager

You are a middle manager in the Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA) and you have to work with a team of senior managers of the MSWA, given the recent developments in the water sector reform you may feel apathetic about it.

(See the case for more information on the situation in MSWA. The Middle Managers are: Assistant Directors of Engineering, Finance, Revenue, Treatment and Quality Control, Regulation and Corporate Development, Operations, Project Delivery, Human Resource and Corporate Services).

Instructions:

1. Create a list of 5 things the team of senior managers should do to make your joint work with the team of senior managers on the water sector reform more effective.
2. Share your list with the group of middle managers and explore similarities and differences.
3. As one group now, identify the top 3 things that you agree will help make your joint work on the water sector reform more effective. Prepare to report those 3 things and also highlights / insights of the discussion between your two groups. GAINING SUPPORT OF MIDDLE MANAGERS—EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS

Your Role: Middle Manager

You are a middle manager in the Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA) and you have to work with a team of senior managers of the MSWA, given the recent developments in the water sector reform you may feel just compliant and having no initiative about it. (See the case for more information on the situation in MSWA. The Middle Managers are: Assistant Directors of Engineering, Finance, Revenue, Treatment and Quality Control, Regulation and Corporate Development, Operations, Project Delivery, Human Resource and Corporate Services).

Instructions:

1. Create a list of 5 things the team of senior managers should do to make your joint work with the team of senior managers on the water sector reform more effective.
2. Share your list with the group of middle managers and explore similarities and differences.
3. As one group now, identify the top 3 things that you agree will help make your joint work on the water sector reform more effective. Prepare to report those 3 things and also highlights / insights of the discussion between your two groups.

## Approaches and Techniques

### Gaining the Support of Public Sector Middle Managers, and Fostering a Stronger Culture of Public Service

| Approaches | Description | |------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Work appreciatively (appreciative inquiry)** | The concept of appreciative inquiry, or of working appreciatively, is an example of a dialogic approach to achieving reform by consensus. It is based on a commitment to be inclusive and is guided by three principles: (1) an appreciation of the expertise conveyed by all stakeholders, (2) a focus on what already works in an organization, (3) a collective vision for the future. This approach represents a fundamental departure from traditional approaches to change agencies, which have focused on the problems, thereby leading people to a negative blame game. Instead, appreciative inquiry shifts the attention to what works well. Appreciative inquiry has the potential to encourage a dynamic cultural change within an organization by empowering middle managers to own the change process and become agents of change. Techniques that can support this approach include principles of inclusion and appreciation for multiple proficiencies; framing the dialogue positively to create forward movement; creation of space for visioning, experimentation and innovation; a sense of teamwork and collective responsibility; and creating momentum for reform. | | **Adopt shock therapy or frank talk** | Shock therapy, or frank talk, is an example of a monologic approach wherein senior management makes a decision and communicates that conclusion to the lower ranks in a top-down fashion. Despite its negative reputation, the monologic approach is legitimate and more appropriate than the dialogic approach in cases where the reform objective has already been predetermined, or in which there are capacity constraints within middle management. Specifically with respect to addressing the challenge of building middle management support for reform, the use of monologic communication may work more effectively in situations where the civil service is known to be dysfunctional or corrupt. A strong message from leadership that it is serious about reform can be an effective instrument for supporting change among middle managers. To implement this approach, there is need for strong leadership commitment to reform and clear roles and responsibilities of teams within organizations. | | **Combine monologic and dialogic approaches** | There are situations in which using a combination of monologic and dialogic approaches would be most suitable for generating the change-support among middle managers. Combinations of both approaches include (1) the use of the monologic approach to set the | broad parameters, followed by dialogue, (2) the employment of monologue as input for a dialogue, and (3) the application of the two at different stages of the reform process. The first two variations are about sequencing. In using monologue followed by dialogue, senior management can set the broad parameters for change while permitting dialogue to emerge at the middle management level. The approach of using monologue as an input for dialogue is appropriate when the capacity of middle managers and other stakeholders is too low to initially produce a meaningful dialogue. In this case, the more capable stakeholders can guide the discussion in a monologic manner until the capacity of middle managers is sufficiently raised, paving the way for the dialogic approach to take over. The third variation is the use of both the monologic and dialogic approaches at different stages of the reform process. In the Philippine procurement reform, for example, both the monologic and dialogic approaches were adopted at various times depending on which approach was deemed more appropriate.

### Techniques

| Technique | Description | |-----------|-------------| | Involves stakeholders, and appreciate “multiple proficiencies” in implementing reform. | This technique is about involving all relevant stakeholders in the reform process. At its core is the acknowledgment of and appreciation for the wisdom that everyone brings to the table. It also calls for listening deeply to the concerns of all stakeholders, both internal and external, and embracing the opportunity to learn from critics. Consulting and involving middle managers in the reform process creates a sense of ownership or buy-in for them. | | Frame the dialogue positively to create forward movement. | This technique emphasizes that discussions about change should be focused on areas of excellence in an organization (that is, what already works well as opposed to what does not). By framing the dialogue affirmatively, the technique leads stakeholders to identify with what they take pride in and build on it as they try to move forward in making improvements within the organization. Framing the dialogue develops the positive core to accentuate middle managers’ achievements, wisdom, social capital, and competencies. It results in stretching their imaginations and expanding their capacity to achieve tangible results. | | Create opportunities for visioning, experimentation, and innovation | A technique for securing buy-in and ownership of middle managers for reform is to create space and the opportunities for them to develop a vision of the organization’s future, instead of merely executing the dictates of upper management. By giving middle managers the responsibility to develop their own vision of the future, the collective envisioning exercise opens the way for a clear understanding of the best direction for their organization. This technique tackles the challenge of inadequate ownership of reform by middle managers, which is likely when reform is supply-driven rather than demand-driven. Additionally, creating space means allowing middle managers to take risks, make mistakes, and develop new approaches based on lessons learned from those mistakes. It is all part of building an enabling environment, in which experimentation and innovation are the norm. Then, open dialogue and feedback can lead to constant improvements in the overall change process. | | Foster a sense of teamwork and collective responsibility | Instilling in middle managers a sense of teamwork—a sense of “all of us are in this together”—working cooperatively rather than individually builds ownership of reform and positive dynamics in general. The concept of collective responsibility is a powerful tool for energizing and mobilizing a group of people. |

### Gaining the Support of Public Sector Middle Managers

| **Signal leadership commitment for reform to demonstrate political will.** | Strong leadership commitment to middle managers is necessary for them to know that the reform has real support, and hence their efforts at change will be fully backed and also receive guidance from the leadership. Leadership could show its commitment to reform by sending a strong message, clearly articulating its recognition of the need for change and its will to effect that change. It is useful for middle managers to have a change champion as well as access to power brokers. | |---|---| | **Define clear roles and responsibilities within organizations.** | Middle managers need to have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, as well as that of other partners involved in the reform effort. Toward this end, middle managers should be involved in crafting their own terms of reference and be provided with information about who is responsible for which aspect of the reform. Once the roles and responsibilities of each individual are clearly defined, it is imperative for the middle manager to be given sufficient power and authority to implement change. | | **Train middle managers in cross-level, horizontal interactions and strategic communication, and develop a holistic capacity-building framework.** | One of the major constraints of generating support for change among middle managers is their lack of capacity to be active and effective change agents. The first area in which middle managers need training is in the concept of interacting with other middle managers. In many countries, because of the government’s organizational structure or cultural traditions, middle managers neither talk to one another nor feel that they are encouraged to do so. It would be useful to teach and promote cross-level, horizontal interactions among middle managers, which could lead to further mobilization, as well as information diffusion, awareness raising, innovation, and partnerships. Other suggestions for capacity building include training middle managers in strategic communication for greater effectiveness in interacting with the public, and developing a capacity-building framework that is multi-sectorial in nature, in contrast with traditional ad hoc, stand-alone programs. | | **Use a set of recommendations to guide dialogue with middle managers when their capacity is low.** | Low capacity levels among middle managers can hamper their engagement in effective dialogue about change. Sometimes discussions must be guided by more capable stakeholders to ensure that decisions result from the meaningful and informed exchange of ideas. This is a technique that uses both monologic and dialogic approaches. For example, a panel of experts can produce ‘options papers’ for various options that the stakeholders might use as a starting point for guiding them in discussions about reform. These options papers can raise awareness and understanding among the less-informed stakeholders so they can participate more effectively in conversations. | | **Use educational tools to create momentum for reform.** | Once momentum starts to build, it is difficult to stop and even more difficult to reverse. In one reform initiative that involved the passage of a bill, support for reform among middle managers gained momentum by the clever and gradual use of educational tools. The mix of materials used included screen savers, video-based tutorials, and workshops, which helped mobilize middle managers around the new bill. Observing the support among middle managers, legislators felt pressured to support the bill themselves. Creating momentum for reform is a powerful enabler in generating and sustaining the middle-manager support that is necessary to produce reform. | Defining Change Management

Change management has typically been defined as a process involving unfreezing, moving, and refreezing values, practices, and procedures within organizations. Unfreezing refers to the creation of a perceived discrepancy between the existing and ideal state of an organization that generates a desire for change and lowers people's resistance to change. Moving refers to the various processes such as training, education, and restructuring that lead to the development of new behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs. Refreezing regards reestablishing a new state of equilibrium within the organization by stabilizing the new patterns through a variety of support mechanisms.

Change and Resistance

Change is often resisted by organizational members. The primary reason for resistance is that change requires employees to alter their existing individual and organizational identities. Changing one's identity can be anxiety provoking and it is common for employees to use strategies such as denial, rationalization, idealization, fantasy, and symbolization to resist change.

The Role of Communication in Change Initiatives

Communication is key to developing change initiatives and implementing them. Communication can serve many functions during change initiatives.

- **Information sharing**: Communication may be used to announce organizational changes and to provide stakeholders with information about the nature, timing, and significance of the change.

______________________________________________________________________

1. Lewin, K. (1951). *Field theory in social science*. New York: Harper. Seo, M., Putnam, L. L., & Bartunek, J. M. (2003). Dualities and tensions of planned organizational change. In M. S. Poole & A. V. de Ven (Eds.), *Handbook of organizational change*, 73–107. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2. Brown, A. D., & Starkey, K. (2000). Organizational identity and learning: A psychodynamic perspective. *Academy of Management Review, 25*, 102–120. Fiol, C.M (2002). Capitalizing on paradox: The role of language in transforming organizational identities. *Organization Science, 13*, 653–666.
3. Lewis, L. K., & Seibold, D. R. (1998). Reconceptualizing organizational change implementation as a communication problem: A review of literature and research agenda. In M. E. Roloff (Ed.), *Communication yearbook 21*, 93–151. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. • **Participation:** Change agents may create communication processes that actively involve lower-level employees in the planning and implementation of change initiatives or may construct communication processes that emphasize the role of upper-level management and limit lower-level participation.

• **Vision and Motivation:** Communication can be utilized to convey the vision, set the goals, and highlight the important drivers for changing existing organizational attitudes, beliefs, and practices.

• **Social Support:** Change efforts can produce high-levels of anxiety, and communication may be needed to determine employee responses to change, alleviate potential fears, and encourage the establishment of social support systems among employees.

• **Evaluation/Feedback:** Change efforts require the structuring of communication processes that provide employees feedback about their performance during change initiatives and provide feedback to implementers regarding strengths and weaknesses of the change initiative.

### Selected Strategies for Managing Change Communication

Lewis, Schmisseur, Stephens, and Weir (2006) highlight several general strategies to consider for communication during change initiatives.4

• **Ask for input:** Participation is generally regarded as a key success factor during organizational change. Input can be obtained through a variety of processes including multi-stakeholder dialogue, listening sessions, and the establishment of planning teams.5

• **Use informal networks and knowledge of key stakeholders:** Involving key stakeholders in the change process is important because they have access to important information from their networks that may be useful in determining how well the process is working and what challenges and difficulties exist. Key stakeholders can also influence the change process by disseminating information through their network and acting as opinion leaders.

• **Disseminate information:** Keeping stakeholders informed about the change process is critical. When disseminating information, it is important to use multiple methods for communicating the message as well as repeating the message consistently throughout the initiative. A variety of media may be used such as team meetings, email, newsletters, posters, public presentations, and Websites.

• **Manage the style and content of communication:** Change messages need to be credible, clear, and motivational. Formal and informal organizational rewards should be structured to encourage and support the desired behavioral changes.6

• **Create and communicate vision:** Visions should be clear, unambiguous, personally relevant, simple, and vivid.

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4 Lewis, L. K., Schmisseur, A. M., Stephens, K. K., & Weir, K. E. (2006). Advice on communicating during organizational change. *Journal of Business Communication, 43,* 113–137.

5 Littlejohn, S., & Domenici, K. (2001). *Systemic conflict.* Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

6 Anderson, A. L., & Anderson, D. (2001). *The change leader’s roadmap: How to navigate your organization’s transformation.* San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Problem Centered and Appreciative Models of Change

A variety of models have been developed that change agents may select when designing and implementing change initiatives. Change models may be divided into two types: (1) problem-centered, and (2) appreciative.

**Problem-centered models:** A gap between an existing and ideal state of affairs is identified, and change processes are designed and implemented to reduce this gap. Problem-solving steps normally include defining the problem, determining evaluative criteria, generating alternative solutions, evaluating solutions, and implementing solutions. Once the problem has been clearly defined, a structured set of steps needs to be followed in order to facilitate the change process. John Kotter’s 8-step model of change is one exemplar of a problem-centered model.7

1. **Establish a sense of urgency.** Cultivate awareness among organizational members regarding market and competitive realities, existing or potential crises, and major opportunities in order to create a compelling reason for change and lessen resistance.
2. **Create a guiding coalition.** Put together a group of key stakeholders that will lead the change.
3. **Develop a vision and strategy.** Articulate the guiding vision that will inform the change initiative as well as the strategies to accomplish the vision.
4. **Communicate the vision.** Determine the appropriate media for disseminating the vision and constantly broadcast the message to the organization. The guiding coalition must “walk the talk” and model the vision for other organizational members.
5. **Empower broad-based action.** Assess potential obstacles that inhibit change. Discard or modify existing systems, policies, or structures that undercut the change vision. Create an organizational environment that recognizes and rewards risk taking, nontraditional thinking, and innovation.
6. **Generate short-term wins.** Create opportunities during the change process for viable performance improvements. Creating “small wins” along the way heightens organizational members’ motivation and demonstrates that the change process can be successful.
7. **Consolidate gains and produce more change.** The credibility from generating “small wins” is leveraged to continue the change of systems, structures, and policies that don’t fit the vision. Hiring and promotion policies are aligned with the vision, and individuals are brought into the organization who can implement the vision. New projects, themes, and change agents are brought in to reinvigorate the process.
8. **Anchor the new approach into the culture.** Articulate the connections between the new behaviors and organizational success. Create a culture of leadership and program of leadership development and succession to support the new vision and further its development.

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7 Kotter, J. P. (1996). *Leading change.* Boston: Harvard Business School. Kotter, J. P. (1998). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. In *Harvard Business Review on Change,* 1–21. Boston: Harvard Business School. Appreciative models: Appreciative models of change begin with the premise that the organizations are doing something right and promote inquiry into the organization’s moments of excellence, life-generating values, and best practices. This is typically referred to as the positive core. Appreciative models affirm the “best of what is” in the current organization by building on the organization’s existing strengths and developing processes that elaborate, develop, and enlarge the organization’s capacity. Appreciative Inquiry is the dominant exemplar of an appreciative change model and is structured according to the 4-D Model of Change. The four D’s are:

1. **Discovery:** The Discovery phase uses organization-wide interviews among members to appreciate and value the best of “what is” regarding the topic of inquiry. For example, an inquiry could be created that focuses on delivering high-quality customer service. Organizational members typically interview each other regarding the strengths, values, core competencies, best practices, wishes, and dreams concerning the particular issue the organization wishes to address.

2. **Dreaming:** During this phase, organizational members envision “what might be.” They create a future-oriented focus by imagining what a future would be like where they are at their best and performing at a high level.

3. **Dialogue:** Organizational members discuss “what should be” in light of the information they have developed in the Discovery and Dreaming phases. Provocative propositions that summarize what allows the individuals and the organization to succeed and perform well are articulated. Dialogue on how to create an organizational architecture and structure that supports these provocative propositions is conducted.

4. **Destiny:** Organizational members discuss “what will be” by determining what processes and procedures need to be in place to accomplish the visions and dreams that emerge from the Dialogue phase and create action plans.

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8 Watkins, M., & Mohr, B. (2001). *Appreciative inquiry.* San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Preiffer. This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about theory and research in change management. Each section in the resource guide parallels the Change Management Participant Guide by initially highlighting relevant resources of change processes in general, Kotter’s change model, and Appreciative Inquiry. Within each section, written materials are presented that may offer more in depth coverage of important concepts and models. A list of useful web resources contains URLs to websites that provide access to material that may be useful in a training and research context.

**Additional Textual Resources on Change Management**

- Beer, M., & Nohria, N. (Eds.) (2000). *Breaking the code of change*. Boston: Harvard Business School.
- Hesselbein, F., & Johnston, R. (Eds.). (2002). *On leading change*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Holman, P., Devane, T., & Cady, S. S. (Eds.). *The change handbook*. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
- *Managing change & transition*. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
- Poole, M.S., & Van de Ven, A. H. (2004). *Handbook of organizational change and innovation*. New York: Oxford University Press.

**Useful Web Resources**

- [http://www.army.mil/ESCC/cm/guide.htm](http://www.army.mil/ESCC/cm/guide.htm) *This site provides a summary of the Capgemini model of change and identifies critical success factors for creating and sustaining change.*
- [http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=5829768](http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=5829768) *This website provides a comprehensive toolkit and set of case studies describing change management in governmental and public organizations.*
- [http://www.managementhelp.org/org_chng/org_chng.htm](http://www.managementhelp.org/org_chng/org_chng.htm) *This site offers a comprehensive manual identifying change management tools for use in nonprofit organizations.* • http://www.12manage.com/i_co.html This site provides clear summaries of a variety of change tools and models such as the balanced score card and Peter's Senge's theory of the learning organization. • http://valuebasedmanagement.net/ This site provides short, easy to understand summaries on a variety of change approaches, management techniques, and models. Organizational Communication

Communicating and Organizing — There are two main approaches to defining the relationship between communicating and organizing:

1. The **container approach** assumes that organizations exist independently of communication and serve as containers that influence communication behavior. For example, organizational structures, such as hierarchical, are assumed to exist independently and influence the content and directional flow of communication.¹

2. The **social constructionist approach** assumes that communication creates the form and shape of organizations.² For example, when organizational members consistently funnel their information through one person, they create a centralized network structure where one person maintains a high degree of power because s/he is at the hub and controls the flow of information. When people change the content and form of their communication such as transmitting their information to a larger array of people, they create new organizational structures, such as decentralized networks.

Defining Organizational Communication

How one defines organizational communication depends on one’s view of the relationship between communicating and organizing. According to the container approach, organizational communication can be defined as the transmission of a message through a channel to a receiver. In the social constructionist approach, organizational communication can be defined as the way language is used to create different kinds of social structures, such as relationships, teams, and networks. The former definition emphasizes the constraints that are placed on communication given pre-existing organizational structures and the latter definition highlights the creative potential of communication to construct new possibilities for organizing.

However, organizational communication may be viewed more profitably as balancing creativity and constraint, as it is never entirely either constrained or creative. The definition of **organizational communication as balancing creativity and constraint** focuses on how individuals use communication to work out the tension between working within the constraints of pre-existing organizational structures and promoting change and creativity.³ For example, assume that an organization was undergoing a major change initiative.

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¹ Axley, S. (1984). Managerial and organizational communication in terms of the conduit metaphor. *Academy of Management Review, 9*, 428–437.

² Smith R. C., & Turner, P. K. (1995). A social constructionist reconfiguration of metaphor analysis. *Communication Monographs, 62*, 152–180.

³ Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., & Trethewey, A. (2007). *Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint*, 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. An information transfer approach to organizational communication would require change messages to be sent clearly to all members in the organization. A social constructionist approach would focus on creating patterns of language use that would generate the desired change (i.e., to create a team-based organization, organizational members need to talk in the language of teamwork). An approach to organizational communication that emphasizes balancing creativity and constraint would focus on achieving a balance between using communication that fosters the desired change and being sensitive to the existing constraints of the organization.

Areas of Study in Organizational Communication

There are several research areas within the field of organizational communication. For ease of presentation, identified here are five major areas that organizational communication scholars study: (1) leadership, (2) teams, (3) communication networks, (4) organizational culture, and (5) organizational learning.

I) LEADERSHIP

Leadership may be defined as a communicative process where the ideas articulated in talk or action are recognized by others as progressing tasks that are important to them. This definition of leadership suggests that leadership may take many different forms and be associated with many different styles of communication. Nevertheless, a review of the literature suggests three important principles for effective leadership communication:

- **Effective leadership communication connects with the hearts and minds of followers.** At some level, effective leadership communication connects with the important values, attitudes, and commitments of followers and is viewed as addressing significant issues and facilitating task accomplishment.

- **Effective leadership communication manages competing goals and tensions.** Effective leadership communication balances the needs to create strong interpersonal relationships and accomplish tasks, maintain a balance between order and chaos within the organization, and use rewards and punishments to motivate followers. Rather than take an either-or position, effective leaders try to create a “both-and” position where oppositions are integrated constructively.

- **Effective leadership communication is context dependent.** Every context is unique, and effective leadership communication is appropriate to the special combination of people, time, place, and topic.

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4 Jablin, F. M., & Putnam, L. L. (Eds.). (2001). *The new handbook of organizational communication*. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

5 Fairhurst, G. (2007). *Discursive leadership*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

6 Conger, J. A. *The charismatic leader*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1989. Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). *The leadership challenge*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

7 Fairhurst, G. (2001). Dualisms in leadership research. In F.M. Jablin & L.L. Putnam (Eds.). *The new handbook of organizational communication*, 379–439. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

8 Barge, J. K. (2004). Reflexivity and managerial practice. *Communication Monographs*, 71, 70–96. Barge, J. K. & Little, M. (2002). Dialogical wisdom, communicative practice, and organizational life. *Communication Theory*, 12, 375–397. 2) TEAMS

Teams may be defined as two or more people who have a specific performance objective or recognizable goal to be attained where the coordination of activity among the members of the team is required for the attainment of the team goal or objective. A variety of teams exist within organizations such as work teams, project teams, research and development teams, sales teams, and special task forces. In a comprehensive study of 6,000 managers, LaFasto and Larson argue that there are four important qualities of teams:

- **Clear elevating goal**: High performance teams have both a clear understanding of the goal to be achieved and a belief that the goal embodies a worthwhile or important result. When setting goals, it is important to remember that: (a) goal setting is better than no goal setting, (b) specific versus vague goals are better, (c) difficult goals are better than easy goals, and (d) participative goal setting is equally effective when compared to assigned goals provided the person assigning the goal is viewed as having more authority, power, and expertise than the follower.

- **Results-driven structure**: Different kinds of performance objectives require different kinds of team structures. For example, creative teams such as those in advertising agencies would need to have a structure that fostered out-of-the-box thinking while tactical teams such as a surgical unit in an operating room would require a structure that facilitated executing surgeries in a competent and efficient manner. High-performing teams need to have clear roles and accountabilities, access to needed information from credible sources, a system to help them monitor performance and receive feedback, and a fact-based decision-making style.

- **Competent team members**: High performance teams must be comprised of people who have the required: (a) technical competencies—the substantive knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the team’s objectives, and (b) personal competencies—the qualities, skills, and abilities necessary to identify, address, and resolve socio-emotional issues.

- **Unified commitment**: High performance teams have members who feel loyalty and dedication to the team.

3. COMMUNICATION NETWORK

A communication network is a group of individuals who may be identified as sharing regular lines of communication. These lines of communication can be described as: who talks to whom, about what, when, and where. A dominant theme in the network literature has been to distinguish between centralized and decentralized communication networks. A centralized network exists when information is funneled through a small number of individuals within an organization. A decentralized network exists when information is shared widely among and flows through many individuals within an organization. Decentralized networks are well-suited for managing turbulent and complex environments because organizational members can communicate the changes they perceive in the business environment and each member can contribute ideas and knowledge for managing these changes.

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9 Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (2003). *The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization*. New York: Collins Business Essentials.

10 LaFasto, M. J. F., & Larson, C. (2001). *When teams work best: 6,000 team members and leaders tell what it takes to succeed*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

11 Conrad, C., & Poole, M.S. (2005). *Strategic organizational communication in a global economy*, 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

12 Miller, K. (2005). *Organizational communication: Approaches and processes*, 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Network forms have recently been adopted by a growing number of global organizations because they facilitate the rapid acquisition, processing, and dissemination of information. Network forms of organizations:

- Employ relatively flat hierarchies by relying on flexible emergent communication.
- Develop flexible relationships with the network of organizations that go beyond the local country-bound network.
- Use information technology to coordinate units and members located in different geographic locations.
- Emphasize the use of autonomous, self-managing teams.(^{13})

By emphasizing autonomous and self-managed task teams, local units can manage emerging crises quickly rather than needing to receive permission from a centralized location. The existence of information technology permits the rapid dissemination of information and allows differing units to coordinate their response within the global network.

4. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Organizational culture may be defined as the knowledge, ideology, values, and rituals that individuals share. There is not a single organizational culture within organizations, as unique sub-cultures may emerge within organizations according to demographics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, organizational tenure, and membership in a particular work unit or division. Nevertheless, many organizational leaders are concerned with creating overarching organizational cultures that emphasize ethical high performance. Eisenberg, Goodall, and Trethewey highlight several important characteristics of ethically high performing organizational cultures.

- Unethical practices are more likely to emerge in organizational cultures of broken promises, where no one takes responsibility for actions and decisions, and participation and dissent are minimized.(^{14})
- High performing cultures tend to be characterized by a bias for action, maintaining close relations to the customer, emphasizing autonomy and entrepreneurship, achieving productivity through its employees, fostering strong corporate values, focusing on what they do best, adopting simple organizational forms, and having simultaneous loose-tight properties (i.e., they are both centralized and decentralized).(^{15})
- High performing cultures tend to preserve their core purpose over time while simultaneously being open to change. To create this strong sense of core identity and purpose, organizations explicitly articulate their ideology to employees, indoctrinate their employees into the company’s core ideology, select potential employees based on their fit with the existing culture, and emphasize the special qualities of the culture.(^{16})

Assessing the kind of culture that an organization has created requires you to focus on the communication that the organization uses in its messages and the various artifacts it creates. To analyze an organizational culture, you may want to focus on the following:

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13 Monge, P., & Fulk, J. (1999). Communication technologies for global network organizations. In G. DeSanctis & J. Fulk (Eds.), Communication technologies and organizational forms, 71–100. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 14 Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., & Trethewey, A. (2007). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint, 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 15 Peters, T., & Waterman, R. (1982). In search of excellence. New York: Harper & Row. 16 Collins, J., & Porras, J. (2002). Built to last: Successful habits of visionary companies. New York: HarperCollins. • The language that people use in their everyday conversation with other employees as well as formal organizational documents and communications. This may include exploring the way that people use technical terms, jargon, slang, jokes, gossip, and metaphors.

• The stories that people tell about their experience. Stories offer a window into the way that people make sense of their organizational experience.

• The way that physical work space is organized. For example, the simple arrangement of office space can provide clues as to the way power and hierarchy is constructed in the organization.

• Company rituals and ceremonies provide insight into what the company values. 17

5. ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

Organizational learning involves elaborating organizational members’ capacity to think collectively in new and rich ways that foster coordinated activity. The topic of organizational learning has grown in importance since the late 1980s as contemporary organizations have recognized that one of the primary strategies for adapting to a rapidly changing business environment is to learn from their successes and failures as well as think strategically about their future. Perhaps the strongest proponent of organizational learning is Peter Senge and his colleagues at MIT.18

Senge argues that organizations are more likely to learn when they develop practices that allow them to engage in systems thinking, foster a shared vision, encourage self-reflection, and develop the ability to view situations from multiple perspectives. From a communication perspective, Senge argues that dialogue is central to fostering learning. From Senge’s perspective, dialogue is a form of communication that fosters high-quality collective thinking. Dialogue is guided by several principles.

• Inquiry and advocacy must be balanced. Individuals must ask questions that challenge existing assumptions and beliefs while simultaneously engaging with advocacy by stating opinions and taking action. Inquiry without advocacy can lead to interrogation while advocacy without inquiry can lead to dictating.

• Tacit assumptions and beliefs should be brought to the surface. Many times we pay attention to certain elements of a situation and draw inferences about the situation based on our tacit assumptions and beliefs. While our perceptions and actions may make sense to us, their tacit nature may make it hard for other people to understand the good reasons we use to act in a particular way in a situation. Therefore, dialogue works on making the tacit assumptions and beliefs that people use to form impressions and take actions explicit within the conversation.

• Suspend beliefs. It is important for others to be open to the opinions and thoughts of others; therefore, it is important to suspend certainty about the best way to understand a situation and what counts as appropriate actions and be open to new ideas. Suspending beliefs also means that one is willing to make one’s beliefs and opinions clear to others (i.e., suspending them in front of others for them to see).

• A safe space for dialogue must be created. To reveal one’s thoughts and positions requires trust in the other person. A lack of trust and feeling that one’s statements may be used against them create an unsafe space. When people feel they can trust each other and that they are safe when revealing their opinions, they are more likely to openly discuss their thinking.

17 Driskill, G. W., & Brenton, A. L. (2005). Organizational culture in action: A cultural analysis workbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

18 Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency. Senge, P. M., Scharmer, C. O., Jaworski, J., & Flowers, B. S. (2005). Presence: An exploration of profound change in people, organizations, and society. New York: Currency. Senge, P. M., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Roth, G, Ross, R., & Smith, B. (1999). The dance of change: The challenges to sustaining momentum in learning organizations. New York: Currency. Organizational Communication

This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about theory and research in organizational communication. Each section in the resource guide parallels the Organizational Communication Participant Guide by initially highlighting issues surrounding the definition of organizational communication followed by relevant resources regarding leadership, teams, communication networks, culture, and learning. Within each section, written materials are presented that may offer more in-depth coverage of important concepts and models. A list of useful web resources contains URLs to websites that provide access to material that may be useful in a training and research context.

General Issues in Organizational Communication

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Conrad, C., & Poole, M.S. (2005). Strategic organizational communication in a global economy (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
- Eisenberg, E.M., Goodall, H.L., & Trethewey, A. (2007). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint (5th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
- Jablin, F.M., & Putnam, L.L. (Eds.). (2001). The new handbook of organizational communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Keyton, J., & Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2007). Case studies for organizational communication: Understanding communication processes (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
- Miller, K. (2005). Organizational communication: Approaches and processes (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://wms-soros.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/NR/exeres/27439DE1-BBEF-466B-B2EC-B812A8B34014.htm—This comprehensive website sponsored by the Department of Management at the University of Waikato (New Zealand) offers several syllabi for teaching organizational communication as well as numerous links to other sites and PDFs of case studies and short essays on important topics. Leadership

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Bratton, J., Grint, K., & Nelson, D.L. (2004). *Organizational leadership*. Fort Worth, TX: South Western College Publishers.
- Conger, J.A. *The charismatic leader*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1989.
- Grint, K. *The arts of leadership*. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001.
- Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2007). *The leadership challenge*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Torbert, W.R. (2004). *Action inquiry: The secret of timely and transforming leadership*. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- [http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/leadership_theories.htm](http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/leadership_theories.htm) — This webpage provides short description of a variety of leadership theories including trait, behavioral, situational, contingency, transactional, and transformational leadership.
- [http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/p/leadtheories.htm](http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/p/leadtheories.htm) — A short summary of eight different types of leadership theories. Particularly useful for a short handout for training.
- [http://www.12manage.com/i_l.html](http://www.12manage.com/i_l.html) — This website provides detailed description of a variety of leadership theories including charismatic leadership, leadership styles, path-goal theory, and results-based leadership.
- [http://www.leadership-studies.com/documents/mgmt_standards.pdf](http://www.leadership-studies.com/documents/mgmt_standards.pdf) — This article provides a detailed summary of leadership theories and outlines a competency-based approach to the study of leadership.
- [http://www.ccl.org/leadership/index.aspx](http://www.ccl.org/leadership/index.aspx) — The Center for Creative Leadership is one of the leading leadership training and development centre. This website provides several articles and essays that are available for download.

Teams

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Hackman, J.R. (2002). *Leading teams: Setting the stage for great performances*. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

- Katzenbach, J.R., Garvin, D.A., & Wenger, E.C. (2004). *Harvard Business Review on teams that succeed*. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

- Katzenbach, J.R., & Smith, D.K. (2003). *The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization*. New York: Collins Business Essentials.

- LaFasto, M.J.F., & Larson, C. (2001). *When teams work best: 6,000 team members and leaders tell what it takes to succeed*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

- Parker, G.M. (1996). *Team players and teamwork*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/a_group.htm — This webpage provides a nice summary of the academic theories connecting to conformity, in-group versus out-group status, and decision making within a group context.

- http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/atwelve_tip_team.htm — This website provides a simple list of 12 tips for building effective teams. Particularly useful as a handout to training groups.

- http://www.teambuildingtips.com/ — This website includes a number of articles on team building as well as team building tools that can be used for creating and sustaining teams.

- http://www.leadershipadvantage.com/creatingPowerfulTeams.shtml — this is a short article by Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith that summarizes their approach to creating high-performing teams.

Communication Networks

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Cross, R., Liedtka, J., & Weiss, L. (2005). A practical guide to social networks. Harvard Business Review, 83, 124–132.
- Cross, R.L., Parker, A., & Cross, R. (2004). The hidden power of social networks: Understanding how work really gets done in organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
- Ibarra, H., & Hunter, H. (2007). How leaders create and use networks. Harvard Business Review, 85, 40–47.
- Monge, P.R., & Contractor, N.S. (2003). Theories of communication networks. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Stohl, C. (1995). Organizational communication: Connectedness in action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://www.managementhelp.org/mrktng/org.cmm.htm — Concrete tips on how to clearly communicate one's message to internal organizational audiences is provided. Material on using upward, downward, and horizontal channels for communicating is covered.
- http://www.orgnet.com/sna.html — A brief introduction to social network analysis including concepts such as degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and network centrality are discussed.

Culture

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Cameron, K.S., & Quinn, R.E. (1999). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Deal, T.E., & Kennedy, A.A. (2000). The new corporate cultures: Revitalizing the workplace after downsizing, mergers, and reengineering. Reading, MA: Pursues Books. • Driskill, G.W., & Brenton, A.L. (2005). *Organizational culture in action: A cultural analysis workbook*. Thousand oaks, CA: Sage.

• Keyton, J. (2004). *Communication and organizational culture: a key to understanding work experiences*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Peters, T., & Waterman, R. (1982). *In search of excellence*. New York: Harper & Row.

• Schein, E.H. (2004). *Organizational culture and leadership*. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

**USEFUL WEB RESOURCES**

• [http://business.nmsu.edu/~dboje/](http://business.nmsu.edu/~dboje/) —David Boje’s website focuses on the organizational cultures of large multinational organizations such as Reebok and Nike. A variety of case studies highlighting the link between organizational culture and ethics are provided.

• [http://leao-oise.utoronto.ca/~vsvede/culture.htm](http://leao-oise.utoronto.ca/~vsvede/culture.htm) —This website provides an interactive walk through of organizational culture. On-line quizzes and exercises are included that facilitate your understanding your own culture.

• [http://managers.emeraldinsight.com/strategy/interviews/pdf/schein.pdf?PHPSESSID=11ca13769cfe09660324b79f7232462](http://managers.emeraldinsight.com/strategy/interviews/pdf/schein.pdf?PHPSESSID=11ca13769cfe09660324b79f7232462) —A published interview with Edgar Schein and his views on the connection between managing culture and leadership.

**Organizational Learning**

**ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES**

• Argyris, C. (1999). *On organizational learning*. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

• Easterby-Smith, M., Lyles, M.A., & Crossan M. (2005). *The Blackwell handbook of organizational learning and knowledge management*. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Limited.

• Senge, P.M. (2006). *The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization*. New York: Currency.

• Senge, P.M., Scharmer, C.O., Jaworski, J., & Flowers, B.S. (2005). *Presence: An exploration of profound change in people, organizations, and society*. New York: Currency.

• Senge, P.M., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C, Roth, G, Ross, R., & Smith, B. (1999). *The dance of change: The challenges to sustaining momentum in learning organizations*. New York: Currency.

• Wenger, E.C., Snyder, W., Pfeffer, J., Sutton, R., & Brown, J.S. (2001). *Harvard Business Review on organizational learning*. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

**USEFUL WEB RESOURCES**

• [http://www.ewenger.com/](http://www.ewenger.com/) —This is Etienne Wenger’s website that pioneered the notion of communities of practice. This detailed website covers his approach to communities of practice and their relationship to learning and provides case studies as well as interviews for download.

• [http://www.solonline.org/](http://www.solonline.org/) —The Society for Organizational Learning provides a variety of publications and resources for engaging organizational learning within organizations. It provides a detailed presentation of Senge’s five disciplines of organizational learning as well as links to other important topics.

- [http://www.thinking.net/Systems_Thinking/systems_thinking.html](http://www.thinking.net/Systems_Thinking/systems_thinking.html) — A crucial part of Senge’s approach to organizational learning is systems thinking. The systems Thinking webpage provides a summary of important systems thinking concepts and approaches as well as links to other sites related to systems thinking.

### Relevant Journals Focusing on Organizational Communication

**PRACTITIONER JOURNALS**

- Academy of Management Executive
- Harvard Business Review
- Organizational Dynamics

**ACADEMIC JOURNALS**

- Academy of Management Journal
- Academy of Management Review
- Communication Monographs
- Human Communication Research
- Human Relations
- Organization
- Organizational Studies
- Organizational Science Defining Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication is a crucial part of your everyday life, yet you probably rarely think about the way in which you interact with other individuals. DeVito defines interpersonal communications as “communication that takes place between two persons who have an established relationship; the people are in some way ‘connected’” (p. 4). Thus, as interpersonal communication can occur between romantic partners, business associates, doctors and patients, etc., it permeates our lives. Often, you devote your interpersonal interactions to attempts at influencing the other individual in some way.

The Role of Perception in Interpersonal Influence

Perception is “the process of experiencing your world and then making sense out of what you experience” (p. 68). In interpersonal interactions, both parties engage in the process of perception. Thus, while a fundamental component of the interpersonal communication process, you have relatively little control of the process; it tends to be somewhat automatic. An individual’s perception of you shapes what s/he thinks about you and how s/he interacts with you and vice versa. Most interpersonal communication research views perception as a three-part process:

1. **Selection** - the stage in which you determine the stimuli on which you will focus
2. **Organization** - the stage in which you place stimuli into patterns
3. **Interpretation** - the stage in which you assign meaning to your observations

While the above explains the process of perception, there are several explanations of how we actually process this information in our brains.

- **Implicit personality theory** argues that we develop a list of associated qualities that we attribute to the individuals with whom we interact. This allows us to make guesses about an individual’s personality

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1 DeVito, J. A. (2004). *The interpersonal communication book*, 10th ed. Boston: Pearson-Allyn & Bacon. 2 Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. A. (2005). *Interpersonal communication: Relating to others*. Boston: Pearson-Allyn & Bacon. 3 Ibid. based on whatever information we currently have about him or her. For example, if someone tells you that your new boss is intelligent, you may infer that s/he is dedicated, hardworking, punctual, outgoing, etc., even though you have no basis for these inferences. Most individuals tend to group positive characteristics together (halo effect) and negative characteristics together (horn effect).

- **Impression formation theory** says that we form impression about others based on their physical qualities and behaviors, information they tell us about themselves, and information third parties tell us about them. Proponents of this perspective argue that the information we first learned about the individual and the information we learned most recently about the individual are most important in forming our perceptions. This is known as the primacy effect and the recency effect. For example, you might remember what your boss wore the first day you met him or her and use it to judge how formal/casual an individual s/he is.

- **Attribution theory** argues that we attempt to assign motive or cause to the behavior of another individual. Specifically, we have three options in determining the cause of another's actions: the circumstance, a stimulus of some sort, or the person himself or herself. Individuals raised in the United States often attribute causes to internal factors, while individuals from other cultures may attribute others' behavior to external factors more often than internal factors.

- **Standpoint theory** states that everyone sees the world differently because s/he views it from a different position from everyone else. Thus, because your experiences are different from everyone else's, you have a unique position through which you view the world. Your sex, age, religious background, education, nationality, etc., all influence your perceptions of others.

- **Politeness theory** posits that individuals across all cultures have a universal desire for others to be polite to us. Thus, our perceptions of individuals who are polite to us will be more positive than our perceptions of those who are impolite.

It is important to consider that these theories describe processes that occur in your brain, of which you are often unaware. Further, you need to consider that these processes work together. Expectations of politeness may be associated with the implicit personality characteristics your have in a given situation.

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4 Bruner, J. S., & Tagiuri, R. (1954). The perception of people. In G. Lindzey (Ed.) *Handbook of Social Psychology*, Vol. 2, 634–654. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley. 5 Dion, K., Berscheid, E., & Walster, E. (1972). What is beautiful is good. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology*, 24, 285–290. 6 Riggio, R. E. (1987). *The charisma quotient*. New York: Dodd, Mead. 7 Wegner, D. M., & Vallacher, R. R. (1977). *Implicit psychology: An introduction to social cognition*. New York: Oxford University Press. 8 Asch, S. (1946). Forming impressions of personality. *Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology*, 41, 258–290. 9 Heider, F. (1958). *The psychology of interpersonal relations*. New York: Wiley. 10 Kelly, G. A. (1955). *The psychology of personal constructs*. New York: Norton. 11 Matsumoto, D. (1994). *People: Psychology from a cultural perspective*. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. 12 Aronson, J., Cohen, J., & Nail, P. (1998). Self-affirmation theory: An update and appraisal. In E. Harmon-Jones & J. S. Mills (Eds.). *Cognitive dissonance theory: Revival with revisions and controversies*, 127–147. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 13 Harding, S. (1991). *Whose science? Whose knowledge? Thinking from women's lives*. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 14 Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). *Politeness: Some universals in language use*. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Intercultural Communication and Interpersonal Relationships

Communicating across cultures creates many challenges for effective interpersonal communication. Differing cultures and languages increase your chance of miscommunicating. Given these difficulties, Gudykunst offers a special definition of effective communication in cross-cultural settings. He states, “communication is effective to the extent that the person interpreting the message attaches a meaning to the message that is relative similar to what was intended by the person transmitting it” (p. 289). However, your inability to achieve perfect understanding should not deter you from engaging in cross-cultural communication. For Gudykunst, the best way to achieve effective communication is through mindfulness, or thinking about your communication and continually working to change it in order to be more effective. The best advice for cross-cultural communication is simply: think as you do it.

Impression Management in Interpersonal Relationships

Much of the work related to impression management in interpersonal relationships focuses on maintaining face. Face is “a metaphor for our public self-image, the way we want others to see us and treat us” (p. 440). Facework is “specific verbal and nonverbal messages that help to maintain and restore face loss, and to uphold and honor face gain” (p. 190). One of the major tenets of this research is that the importance individuals place on face differs across cultures. Although many Westerners think this notion is primarily a concern of Asian cultures, research indicates that face is a concern for all cultures. In any interpersonal interaction, you have concern for your own face as well as concern for the face of the other individual in the interaction. These two concerns yield four options for facework:

- **Mutual-Face Protection** – In this condition, you will try to preserve face as well as to help the other individual in the interaction preserve face because your concern for your face and your concern for the other’s face are both high. Simply, you want to look good and you want your partner to look good as well.
- **Self-Face Defense** – In this situation, your goal is to save face. You have little concern for the other individual; thus, self-face concern is high and other-face concern is low. Here, you don’t care how your partner looks as long as you look good.
- **Other-Face Upgrade** – This situation is one in which you will work to help the other individual preserve face or gain face because your concern for self-face is low and your concern for other face is high. With this condition, you allow yourself to look bad so that your partner can look good.

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15 Gudykunst, W. B. (2005). An anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory of effective communication: Making the mesh of the net finer. In William B. Gudykunst (Ed.). *Theorizing About Intercultural Communication*, 71–92. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 16 Griffin, E. (2006). *A first look at communication theory*, 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill. 17 Ting-Toomey, S., & Kurogi, A. (1998). Facework competence in intercultural conflict: An updated face-negotiation theory. *International Journal of Intercultural Relations*, 22, 187–225. 18 Ting-Toomey, S. (2005). The matrix of face: An updated face-negotiation theory. In William B. Gudykunst (Ed.). *Theorizing About Intercultural Communication*, 71–92. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. • **Mutual-Face Obliteration** – In this setting, you have low concern for self-face and low concern for other-face; thus, you are not working to maintain face for either individual in the interaction. Here, you are okay with both individuals in the interaction looking bad.

### Interpersonal Influence

While much of your interpersonal communication is often implicitly attempting to influence other individuals, there are times when you want to make an explicit request. Two common request strategies are:

- **Foot-in-the-door** – This strategy involves making a small request of the receiver, which the receiver then grants, and then making a larger request of the receiver (the larger request is actually the goal of the interaction). The idea behind this strategy is that once you “get your foot in the door” with the small request, the individual whom you are trying to influence will grant the target/actual request.(^{19,20})

- **Door-in-the-face** – The door-in-the-face strategy is essentially the opposite of the foot-in-the-door strategy. This strategy involves making a large request designed so that the receiver will turn it down. Then the persuader makes a smaller request which the receiver grants (the smaller request is the goal of the interaction). The idea behind this strategy is for the initial request to be reasonable, but involved enough that most individuals will reject it. This makes the smaller/target/actual request much more doable and increases the likelihood that the receiver will comply.(^{21})

### Establishing Credibility in Interpersonal Interaction

Credibility is critical to interpersonal influence. O’Keefe defines credibility as “the judgments made by a perceiver (e.g., a message recipient) concerning the believability of a communicator” (p. 181).(^{22}) O’Keefe argues that there are two major components of credibility:

1. **Competence** – perceptions of an individual’s intelligence, expertise, and knowledge on a subject
2. **Character** – perceptions of an individual’s sincerity, trustworthiness, and concern for others

### Types of Credibility

We listen to individuals we judge to be credible and tend to question those who we judge to be not credible. McCroskey(^ {23}) proposes three types of credibility:

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19 Freedman, J. L, & Fraser, S. C. (1966). Compliance without pressure: The foot-in-the-door technique. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4*, 195–202. 20 DeJong, W. (1979). An examination of self-perception mediation of the foot-in-the-door effect. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37*, 2221–2239. 21 Cialdini, R. B., Vincent, J. E., Lewis, S. K., Catalan, J., Wheeler, D., & Darby, B. L. (1975). Reciprocal concessions procedure for inducing compliance: The door-in-the-face technique. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31*, 206–215. 22 O’Keefe, D. J. (2002). *Persuasion: Theory and research*, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 23 McCroskey, J. A. (2006). *An introduction to rhetorical communication*, 9th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. • **Initial Credibility** – the credibility an individual has before he or she begins to speak – this type of credibility may be the result of the speaker’s position, expertise, or simply the fact that s/he was asked to speak.

• **Derived Credibility** – the credibility an individual creates through what s/he has to say – this type of credibility may stem from the speaker’s ability to communicate, the speaker’s ideas, or the information s/he uses to support his or her position.

• **Terminal Credibility** – the credibility an individual has when s/he finishes speaking – this type of credibility is often a result of the other two types and influences the impact of the message (i.e., will the listeners adopt a long-term change).

In order to ensure that individuals with whom you interact see you as credible, you need to first examine the amount of information they have about you. If you are attempting to influence an individual who has limited information about you (potentially a situation in which you have low initial credibility), it may be useful to provide him or her with information about your competence and/or credibility. Suppose you are attempting to influence an individual who knows you, but in a different context (i.e., a friend who recently began working for your organization). You may need to think about how you can derive credibility in this situation by conveying your competence at work.

### Effective Public Speaking to Gain Influence in Organizations

Numerous factors contribute to an effective public speech. The following is a list of suggestions from the most popular university-level public speaking text on the market designed to help you improve your public speaking:24

#### CHOOSE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

- avoid terminology with which your audience is unfamiliar unless you explain it
- avoid stereotyping sex-roles, sexual orientation, etc.
- avoid use of male terms to refer to both men and women
- avoid information that is not germane to the topic
- use labels individuals/groups use to identify themselves25

#### VOCAL QUALITIES

- vary your infection – it is difficult to listen to monotone presentations
- choose appropriate volume – too loud equals annoying and to soft means no one will hear you
- use pauses wisely – a well-timed pause can be very powerful, but consistent pauses and/or pausing too long will distract the audience

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24 Lucas, S. E. (2007). *The art of public speaking*. Boston: McGraw-Hill. 25 Maggio, R. (1997). *Talking about people: A guide to fair and accurate language*. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. INTERPERSONAL INFLUENCE

- select an appropriate rate – fast is not necessarily bad, neither is slow – you need to select a rate appropriate for the occasion, the topic, and the audience
- pronounce words correctly – mispronouncing words may damage your credibility
- articulate/enunciation – clearly form all words; don’t run words together; don’t chop off the endings of words; don’t mumble

USE APPROPRIATE NONVERBAL BEHAVIORS

- avoid nonfluencies such as “uh,” “um,” “like,” and “you know” – these are distracting, decrease your credibility, and may make you appear deceptive
- dress appropriately – you may need to do some research to find out what appropriate means
- perfect your posture/movement – good posture contributes to good vocal qualities – all movement should have purpose and usually should be kept to a minimum
- make eye contact – eye contact engages your audience and provides you with important feedback about your presentation; however, different cultures have different rules about eye contact
- use appropriate gestures – gestures should enhance the presentation rather than detract from it

RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH

- research your topic – this is essential for preparing your remarks and for your credibility
- research your source materials – this is especially important if you want to persuade your audience – the credibility of your information is just as important as your credibility
- research your audience – knowing your audience will help you tailor your presentation – demographic information is a good starting point, but you will often want to know about audience members’ life experiences
- research yourself – be aware of how nervous you are, what you look like giving a presentation, and seek objective insight into what people think about your public speaking abilities

PRACTICE

- Effective public speaking requires practice!
- be familiar enough with your presentation that you can go “off” your notes if necessary
- audiotape/videotape yourself or speak in front of a mirror to see where you need to improve
- prepare answers to questions you think you might be asked about your presentation

26 O’Keefe, D. J. (2002). Persuasion: Theory and Research, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 27 Knapp, M. L., & Hall, J. A. (2002). Nonverbal communication in human interaction, 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about interpersonal influence. Each section in the resource guide corresponds with a section in the Interpersonal Influence Participant Guide and contains three sections: additional textual resources, useful web resources, and useful media resources. The additional textual resources section provides references that offer a more in-depth understanding of the concept. The useful web resources section contains the URLs to websites that might be useful in teaching or researching the topic. Finally, the media resources section lists films that display the concepts discussed in the section. Links to websites are current as of January 2007.

The Role of Perception in Interpersonal Influence

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

The three texts mentioned below are introductory interpersonal communication texts. Any similar text will include information on the process of perception.

- Beebe, S.A., Beebe, S.J., & Redmond, M.A. (2005). *Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others*. Boston: Pearson-Allyn & Bacon.
- Blake, R., & Sekuler, R. (2005). *Perception*. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
- DeVito, J.A. (2004). *The Interpersonal Communication Book* (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson-Allyn & Bacon.
- West, R., & Turner, L.H. (2006). *Understanding Interpersonal Communication: Making Choices in Changing Times*. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://www.perceptionweb.com/ —This website is the home of a scholarly journal dedicated to the publication of perception related research.

- http://psych.hanover.edu/KRANTZ/sen_tut.html —Provides tutorials and overviews related to sensory perception.

- http://www.tolerance.org/hidden_bias/index.html —This website houses an implicit association test that allows users to test their hidden biases that might influence how they perceive other individuals. USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- Guess Who/Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

- Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone

Intercultural Communication and Interpersonal Relationships

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Gudykunst, W.B. (ed.). (2005). *Theorizing about Intercultural Communication*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Gudykunst, W.B. (ed.). (2003). *Cross-cultural and Intercultural Communication*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- *Journal of Intercultural Communication*

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://babelfish.altavista.com/ —This is an online language translator. Numerous sites such as this one exist. While often inaccurate, they are an interesting stimulus for discussion.
- http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/ —This website offers information about world cultures and translation service.

USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- Anna and the King
- Seven Years in Tibet

Impression Management in Interpersonal Relationships

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Dimitrius, J.E., & Mazzarella, M. (2002). *Put Your Best Foot Forward: Make a Great Impression by Taking Control of How Others See You*. New York: Simon and Schuster.
- Ting-Toomey, S. (1994). *The Challenges of Facework*. New York: SUNY Press.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://chiron.valdosta.edu/kcolwell/apls2002%20-%20impression%20management.doc —Interesting article on impression management and lying.

- http://www.richmond.edu/~choyt/supportingdocs_spring06/impressionmanagement.ppt#256,1, Impression Management —PowerPoint presentation on impression management. USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- Good Will Hunting

- Joy Luck Club

Interpersonal Influence

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Lieberman, D.J. (2001). *Get Anyone to do Anything*. New York: St. Martin's Press.
- O'Keefe, D.J. (2002). *Persuasion: Theory and Research* (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/directory/downloads/Interpersonal_Influence.ppt#256,1,Interpersonal Influence —PowerPoint presentation on interpersonal influence.
- http://store.teambuildinginc.com/items/team-profiles-assessments/interpersonal-influence-inventory/list.htm —Website of an Interpersonal Influence Inventory.

USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- 10 Things I Hate About You
- Twelve Angry Men

Establishing Credibility in Interpersonal Interaction

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- O'Keefe, D.J. (2002). *Persuasion: Theory and Research* (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Simons, H.W. (2001). *Persuasion in Society*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://credibility.stanford.edu —This site focuses on how individuals determine credibility of online information, and might be useful in helping people think about the issue of credibility.

USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- The Rainmaker Effective Public Speaking in Organizations

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Lucas, S.E. (2007). *The Art of Public Speaking*. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
- Zarefsky, D. (2005). *Public speaking*. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES/MEDIA RESOURCES

- [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html](http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html) — Provides text and audio of the 100 greatest speeches.
- [http://www.speechtips.com/](http://www.speechtips.com/) — This site includes additional tips for preparing a good presentation.
- [http://www.whitehouse.gov/](http://www.whitehouse.gov/) — The White House website includes video and text of presidential speeches that you can analyze or use as examples. Westley, F. (1990). Middle managers and strategy: Microdynamics of inclusion. Strategic Management Journal, 11(5), 337–351.

Oshry, B. (2003, November 19). Managing in the Middle. The Management Forum Series. A presentation in Portland, Oregon.

Huy, Q. N. (2001, September). In praise of middle managers. Harvard Business Review, 72–79.

Wooldridge, B. and Floyd, S. W. (1996). The Strategic Middle Manager: How to Create and Sustain Competitive Advantage, Jossey-Bass.

Axelrod, R. (2010). Terms of Engagement: New Ways of Leading and Changing Organizations. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

CommGAP (n.d.). Change Management. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/ChangeManagementweb.pdf.

**VIDEOS**

Kevin Barge, Texas A&M University, *Running time: 3:55 minutes*\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaYVOk3g_3w

Peter Malinga, Human Resource Agency, Rwanda. On engaging middle managers in governance reform. *Running time: 4:27 minutes.*\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_5Ck8N635M

Sunil Mitra, Principal Secretary, Department of Power and Non Conventional Energy Sources, State Government of West Bengal, India, *Running time: 2:28 minutes*\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epU-yFr0bGs SESSION 4

S4-VD1

Sunil Mitra Principal Secretary, Department of Power State Government of West Bengal, India

S4-VD2

Peter Malinga Human Resources Agency - Rwanda Mobilizing Public Will

Here we explore the challenge of building public will and mobilizing constituencies of support through strategic communication and coalition building. Generating widespread support for a reform effort requires gaining the trust and confidence of the public, which include groups of apathetic, intermittently engaged, or seriously organized networks. Engaging and supporting reform-minded groups and networks requires the strategic use of communication and coalition building techniques. Public will is defined as the opinions and preferences of the public-at-large, can be explored through the tools of public opinion research. By drawing on these tools, coalition building strategies will become robust and therefore more likely to succeed. A companion to Session 3 on political will, this session emphasizes that reform campaigns can unfold both from the top-down (when political will drives public will), and from the bottom-up (when public will drives political will).

You will be introduced to the concepts of the Five Management Decisions, the Power-Interest Matrix, and Targeting Strategic Continuum as tools applied in the Philippines Procurement Reform case.

Key Concepts and Messages

- Public will is broad public support that results in policy changes and reform. It is central to the success of governance reform.
- Public-will campaigns can drive political will through mobilized citizen action.
- The communication challenge is that of mobilizing stakeholders, particularly ‘unorganized’ majorities.
- Strategic communication, a stakeholder-centered approach aimed at influencing people’s behavior and attitudes, is at the heart of effective coalition building.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

- Recognize public-will challenges and examine effective strategies that lead to successful reform outcomes,
- Explain the mutually-reinforcing link between public will and political will,
- Design a communication strategy using diagnostic tools and the Five Communication Management Decisions template. MOBILIZING PUBLIC WILL.

**Exercise:** Small Group Work - *Using Strategic Communication to Secure Public Will*

**Session Length:** 90 minutes

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**Teaching Notes and Process Guide**

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|-------------------------------------|

______________________________________________________________________

[Two active buttons here, side by side:]\*

Play Slideshow

Download Presentation File

*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* USING STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION TO SECURE PUBLIC WILL

Case Study: Philippine Procurement Reform—Passing the Law

SMALL GROUP WORK

TIME ALLOTTED: 45 MINUTES

Note: The case summary should have been assigned as advance reading prior to this session.

PURPOSE

Develop a communication strategy using the Five Communication Management Decisions template. These decisions include: which audiences/stakeholders need to be addressed; what behavior change goals are to be pursued; what key messages need to be developed, which channels of communication will be used; and how will the success of the communication intervention be evaluated.

PROCESS

1. Ask participants to break into small groups of four to five people.
2. Provide participants with the following handouts:
   - Case summary of the Philippine Procurement Reform Law (S5-HO1)
   - Philippine Procurement Perception Mapping (S5-HO2)
3. Participants will exchange ideas on the communication strategy employed, and proceed as follows:
   - Define the management objective
   - Map out a communication strategy using the five communication management decision template
   - Agree on the five main decisions and write the answers in the Communication Management Decision Tool form.
4. Ask each group to report on the results of the discussion.
5. Debrief in plenary. Invite participants to share their insights and lessons from the process. PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REFORM IN THE PHILIPPINES

Background

The procurement system in the Philippines was one of the most lucrative sources of corruption. There was a proliferation of laws, many out-dated legislation consisting of disparate, sometimes inconsistent laws and regulations. In the Philippines, procurement is largely perceived to be synonymous to corruption. As some studies have shown, four out of the top five agencies considered to be the most corrupt agencies are involved in government contracting. And about 20 percent of government contracts are typically given out in the form of commissions or kickbacks. A World Bank study conducted in 2000 estimated $48 billion as losses due to corruption in the past 20 years.

The 1998 reforms in budget formulation under the Filipino Medium-Term Expenditure Framework called attention to the fragmented system of procurement and the uncoordinated administrative responsibilities of agencies involved in the process. Reform-minded leaders in government took on the formidable task of initiating change within a system believed to be highly inefficient and corrupt yet left untouched for many years. In particular, the newly appointed Secretary of Budget and Management, who had administrative responsibility for supervising the government’s purchases of goods and supplies, took on the challenge of tackling the systemic problems of procurement. An all-encompassing law or an omnibus code was seen to be a necessary part of the solution to the complex problem of rationalizing the procurement system.

The long road to reform

As the Philippines experience shows, certain strategic steps were critical in successfully managing the reform process that led to the signing of the Procurement Reform Bill. Having an in-depth understanding of problems in the procurement system was a necessary starting point. With the support of donor assistance, diagnostic work began in August 1999. Within a six-month period, the procurement consultants completed an analysis of the government’s procurement system. A draft law was also prepared with proposed

1 Such an inefficient system was largely responsible for procurement bottlenecks ranging from failed bids, court contested bids, contract disputes, serious delays in registration and licensing of contractors and suppliers, weaknesses in monitoring and enforcing procurement rules and regulations, among others. provisions encompassing purchasing of goods and supplies, contracting for civil works and of consultants, sale of assets, privatization through build-operate-transfer schemes, rationalizing national, provincial, and local procurement.2

Winning the executive branch With the diagnostic work completed and the proposed law drafted, the first roadblock encountered was the lack of support within the proponent agency itself, the Department of Budget and Management. Unfamiliar with the internal workings of government and the socio-political environment, the foreign consultants overlooked the importance of securing ownership within the government’s policy and technical staff. The senior and mid-level government officials and staff assigned to the project were neither motivated nor committed to take the necessary steps to move forward. The process ground to a halt with no further action taken on the study or the draft law.

Committed to address procurement problems, a new Budget Secretary put the process back on track through a USAID-assisted budget reform process. Tasked to revive the study, the program team along with the Budget Reform Task Force (BRTF) reworked the diagnostic process and organized a “shoot-down” workshop to review the consultant’s diagnostic study. The two-day workshop was a well-received event and about 60 government procurement experts and representatives from the donor community participated.3 The gathering served as a good venue to effectively engage relevant stakeholders (within government), tap their expertise on procurement and seek inputs to the technical study.

After a rigorous process of review and deliberation, the end-result was a report that was essentially consistent with consultants’ study that validated their earlier analysis and key findings. But, more importantly, the “shoot-down” exercise empowered government stakeholders to lend their voice and technical expertise to the diagnostic process which gave them a greater sense of ownership. The process also helped in mapping out an action plan to be implemented over the succeeding three-month period. This involved the following: (1) formation of a technical working group (TWG) to oversee the completion of the omnibus bill and its submission for Congress deliberation; (2) conduct of regular TWG meetings and consultations, and (3) TWG participation in congressional deliberations.4

The three-month engagement within government had two positive outcomes: first, it established strong relationships among the members of technical working group brought together by a shared commitment to the procurement reform initiative and second, it helped form a solid government position in procurement reform through regular deliberations and positive dialogue within the group. Despite the diversity of views arising from different institutional perspectives, the group eventually arrived at a clear consensus paving the way for a unified stance for government. This sent an important signal to the legislature that the reform initiative had the strong and solid backing of all government agencies concerned. Such a message was critical in providing assurance to supportive or unconvinced legislators that the draft law was thoroughly subjected to rigorous technical review and can withstand the test of legislative debate. Similarly, it was equally important to let the unconvinced or opposing legislators understand that they could face difficulty in tearing it down since the full contingent of committed government stakeholders stood solid and united in pursuing meaningful changes in the country’s procurement system.

2 See Gobiel, Gastan and Ginette Jobidon, Review and Assessment of Procurement Systems and Procedures in the Philippines, USAID Manila, August, 1999; see also a companion piece, A Diagnostic Study on the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, August, 1999.

3 The government departments represented include the Budget and Management, Public Works and Highways, Education, Health, Finance, Transportation and Communications, National Economic and Development Authority, Commission on Audit, Government Procurement Service. Also represented were Senate/Congress Representatives, Economic Coordinating Council (ECC), Office of the President, Flagship Programs Committee. The donor representatives included the World Bank, ADB, USAID, UNDP and BTA.

4 The TWG consisted of representatives with alternates from each of the participating Departments and agencies. Lobbying within the legislature Mounting the legislative hurdle presented several challenges to the government's reform leaders. First, strong opposition among legislators who have personal vested interests was expected and had to be dealt with. Attempting to clean up the procurement system has always been a politically contentious issue. And introducing major changes to enhance fairness, transparency and accountability in the procurement system posed a clear threat to those who reap personal gains, either from kickbacks, commissions or favored contracts for those with major business interests. Second, unwavering support from potential sponsors (in the Lower House and Senate) and other allies had to be ensured. Supportive legislators, especially those who were willing to sponsor the bill, had to be convinced of the political benefits of associating themselves with a highly controversial piece of legislation. Third, the proposed bill went through the legislative mill twice: the first round was during the 11th Congress which successfully got Lower House approval but failed to get the Senate's attention due to distractions from the impeachment trial of then President Estrada whose leadership was under siege due to corruption charges; and the second round was after Estrada stepped down and his Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over as President. Committed to focus on good governance and anti-corruption, the new President declared the passage of the Procurement Reform Bill as an important priority of her administration.

Successfully navigating the legislative network in both rounds required strategic planning and several one-on-one consultations and negotiations with legislators and their technical staff. Securing approval of the bill required (1) identifying the appropriate legislative committee to approach, (2) finding a credible and influential member willing to sponsor the bill and (3) timely scheduling of the bill for legislative debate.

Mobilizing legislative champions in the 11th Congress Tasked with finding the appropriate Committee, the legislative liaison office of the Budget Department approached the Public Works Committee and Congressman Neptali Gonzalez II, an influential member of the Committee, who later agreed to act as sponsor of the bill. Congressman Gonzalez had filed an earlier bill on sanctions for violations of government contracting regulations which made him a logical legislator to approach for sponsorship. The Committee, recognizing the importance of legislative measures on anti-corruption, particularly given the highly publicized corruption charges against then President Estrada, approved the bill with no amendments and submitted it for Floor debate. In the meantime, strong public sentiment grew against President Estrada calling for his impeachment. The Lower House was in the process of getting the process in motion and filed a request to the Senate as the body empowered under the Constitution to handle impeachment proceedings.

The 11th Congress had two weeks left before its scheduled recess and the prospect of getting the procurement bill on the debate calendar was deemed very unlikely. However, Congressman Gonzalez, also an influential member of the Rules Committee which had jurisdiction over the debate timetable, skillfully managed to get the bill included in the regular schedule of debates. The timing of the bill presentation was also a strategic tactic as it was done during a quorum when most of the likely and strong opponents were not present. An overwhelming majority approved the bill and 36 congressmen signed as co-sponsors of the bill.

The next hurdle was approval of the Senate. The reform team successfully approached the Senate Committee on Constitutional Rules and Amendments and got agreement from the Majority Floor Leader to co-sponsor the bill with the Committee's Chairman. However, with the focus on the impeachment trial and the elections only five months away, the bill eventually got lost in the shuffle and failed to make the Senate Floor.

Creating bi-partisan ownership in the 12th Congress Congress resumed with a new political configuration which called for a bipartisan legislative strategy to move the bill forward. In the Lower House where the ruling party had a majority, two influential legislators were approached. The Speaker of the Lower House (Jose de Venecia) and the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee (Congressman Rolando Andaya Jr) both agreed to co-sponsor the bill.

To secure ownership within his legislative staff, a congressional technical working group (CTWG) was created at the request of Congressman Andaya consisting of the TWG, selected members of the Appropriations Committee and Procurement Watch Inc. as civil society representative. Several CWTG meetings provided the legislative staff and the Congressman himself a deeper understanding of the issues, developed trust among the members and facilitated informal negotiations with key legislators, all of which helped in successfully getting the Committee’s approval. Two key provisions were reluctantly agreed to by the TWG and Procurement Watch and introduced as amendments: incorporation of the Flag Law giving preference to domestic firms in the procurement of goods and the granting preference to local provincial contractors for priority projects for a period of five years. After five months, an overwhelming majority of the Lower House passed the bill in October 2002.

The strategy to win the Senate involved approaching an influential member from the opposition party to sponsor the bill. Unlike the Lower House, the Senate had a more balanced distribution so a sponsor from the opposition party was likely to sway the opposition vote in favor of the bill. Senator Edgardo Angara, an influential legislator and the opposition’s spokesperson agreed to sponsor the bill after several presentations and discussions with the Budget Secretary and the reform coalition. A Senate Technical Working Group with representatives from both parties, the government and civil society completed the drafting of the Senate version of the bill. After six months of technical meetings, Committee presentations and informal meetings to secure broad support from other Senators, the Senate passed its version of the bill. It was almost identical to the government’s version but differed from the Lower House version as it did not include the two key provisions introduced mentioned above.

On December 2002, the Bicameral Conference Committee convened to review the two versions of the bill and prepared a consolidated bill. The Senate and the Lower House approved the Consolidated Bill. President Arroyo then signed the Consolidated Procurement Reform Bill and enacted into law as Republic Act No. 9184 in January 2003.

Main pillars in the reform process

The passage of the reform bill took more than three years of painstaking work among committed reform leaders and supporters within government, the legislature, the business community and civil society. Streamlining the procurement system is a complex and politically charged issue that required careful planning and strategic decision-making, firmly grounded on sound technical analysis. The diagnostic work, a critical input in the process, provided a solid assessment of procurement problems that helped in crafting solid and convincing arguments in the legislative debates. It also identified potential obstacles and pitfalls that could jeopardize the process. Armed with such valuable knowledge, the reform group pursued action in four key areas to minimize risk of opposition and increase the chances for success in securing legislative approval of the reform bill.

Enlisting a solid core of reform champions Experience has shown that making the case for reforms benefit largely from the active involvement of ‘champions’ who strongly endorse the reform agenda. They serve as respected and credible messengers speaking in favor of the reforms. In the Philippines experience, the process of enlisting champions in both the executive and legislative branches greatly influenced broad stakeholder support. Within government, the close and continued collaboration of the government working groups helped build a reliable core of reform champions. Even with the change in political leadership, the core reform group remained intact. Their steadfast involvement provided much needed continuity and sustained the process through a period of uncertainty and political turmoil.

Engaging broad sectors of civil society Just as the government reform group had evolved into a cohesive unit after several months of working together, they realized that a critical missing link was civil society. In February 2001, the Procurement Watch Inc. (PWI) was established with support from the Bank-managed ASEM Trust Fund to promote transparency and accountability in government procurement through research, partnerships, training and advocacy. It was created by a group of concerned citizens from government, academe, the legal profession, and the private sector who shared a commitment to assist in anti-corruption efforts of government. To build public support for the passage of the reform bill, the PWI focused on securing buy-in from key civil society groups and on working with the media to maintain heightened public awareness of corruption in government procurement and the need for urgent executive and legislative action.

Various civil society groups representing the different key stakeholders were mobilized to support the proposed bill. Group meetings, presentations and training workshops were held to inform and educate the various groups of the issues and reform changes proposed. Declarations of support in the form of manifestos or letters of endorsement from the following stakeholder groups presented in the legislative deliberations strengthened the position of the proposed bill: (1) NGOs – Transparency and Accountable Network, comprising 20 NGOs as members; (2) Youth – “Walang Ku-Corrupt” (which means “say no to bribery”), an anti-corruption movement led by 13 university student councils; (3) Church leaders – the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines; (4) Private sector – Philippine Chambers of Commerce and Philippine Contractors Association5; and (5) Local Government – League of Governors, consisting of all provincial governors in the country.

Mobilizing the power of communication and the media Building a broad-based coalition for reform needs to be supported by the power and reach of mass media. To support advocacy efforts, the reform group mounted a strategic media campaign aimed at effectively communicating clear and consistent messages on the proposed bill and the benefits of the procurement reform. The services of a professional group was contracted to roll out a media strategy. It involved the strategic use of radio TV, print, and the distribution of information and promotional materials, all of which were aimed at creating a “brand” with a distinct and memorable image.

Effective targeting of each audience segment was achieved by keeping in mind that the take-away message answers the question “what is in it for me?” Having a good understanding of the audience’s perceptions and attitudes helped in crafting messages that resonate with specific audiences. Reform champions from government and legislative branches, were also mobilized on the media campaign trail as credible messengers of the reform process. They were given air time in TV interviews and in other programs which gave them plenty of opportunity to inform and educate the public about the benefits of the proposed bill (and in the process increase their popularity, a key incentive for politicians).

The media strategy was successful in elevating public attention on the issues of corruption in procurement and in generating public support for the passage of the proposed reform bill provides important lessons in using the different channels of communication:

1. Radio - Media briefing of AM announcers, with prime-time radio programs, played a key role in reaching the broad mass of audiences among the lower-income households and in rural areas. Radio is the most popular and powerful channel of communication among this audience segment, majority of whom tune in to AM radio. Procurement Watch Inc. organized an information briefing for the radio announcers to educate them on the rational for the reform and the expected benefits in approving the proposed bill. The AM radio announcers responded to the call and used the power of the medium by conducting interviews with politicians and legislators. Equipped with a good understanding of the proposed bill, they were able to engage in a productive exchange and send out a clear message to the legislators of the importance of proposed bill.

5 In both groups, mediators were key in securing their support. Convincing the Philippine Contractors Association (PCA) was perceived to be more of a challenge as some members may oppose the proposed bill due to personal vested interests. 2. Television - As the medium of the middle class and the intellectual elite, specific television programs were targeted to reach these audience segments. Interviews in TV talk shows of legislative champions and spokespersons as well as a special documentary on the procurement reform featured in a leading cable news channel were effective in reaching and influencing policymakers and the middle class on the benefits of the proposed bill.

3. Print - Public education on the consequences of corruption and the benefits of the proposed bills was done through regular press releases, special articles and publications. Journalists were invited to various conferences, meetings and conferences especially those organized by the reform group.

4. Advertising - Creating a ‘brand name’ helped in establishing a positive and memorable image for the reform process. The distribution of creative promotional materials consisting of posters, streamers and stickers heightened public awareness of the procurement reform agenda and served as constant reminders of much needed public support for the anti-corruption measures.

The main pillars of the reform process as described demonstrates that the combined impact of active civil society engagement, committed reform champions supported by an effective communication strategy all contributed to effectively mobilizing public action that led to the passage of a landmark legislation. Not to be overlooked, however, is the most important lesson of this Philippines experience – the critical presence of a cohesive core group of government reformers providing the solid foundation amidst a politically fragile reform environment. Working as the “well-oiled machine”, the reform coalition skillfully navigated the challenging political landscape and successfully led the path to procurement reform. Perception Mapping – Philippine Procurement Reform

**Perception of Govt. Reformers** (technical working group)

**Procurement Reform**

- Omnibus Code consolidates Exec orders Laws, Regulations
- Procurement rules apply universally across country
- Lower costs of contracts
- Select best contractor for job
- Reduce processing time from 6–12 months to 1–3 months,
- More resources for Government and more effective use

**Perception of Members of Congress** (from small towns/districts)

**Procurement Reform**

- Loss of control over procurement system in small town
- Increased number of bidders
- "Sweetheart deals" more difficult
- Loss of contracts for "favored companies"
- Favored companies face competition from outsiders
- Competitive advantage of local companies not recognized
- Procurement rules apply universally across country
- Ownership by Executive Branch will lead to passage of bill with minimum compromise
- More resources for Government and more effective use Targeting Strategies

Unmovable opponents Congressmen linked to contractors, mostly at the provincial, municipality level

Opponents Local government – LGUs will now be bound to a uniform code

Uncommitted and Uninvolved The general public and the poor were all indirectly involved in the reform campaign

Uncommitted and Involved Church, business community, general media Budget and procurement government officials Cabinet members Legislative staff

Allies NGOs, esp. in anti-Corruption College students Big contractors, Contractors Association Most donor agencies

Hard-core Allies Government reform team Procurement Watch Philippines Anticorruption Commission Investigative media

Communication Management Decision Tool Management Objective: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

| AUDIENCE | BEHAVIOR | MESSAGES | CHANNELS | EVALUATION | |----------|----------|----------|----------|------------| | | | Take-away Messages | Supporting Data | |

# How to Instigate Citizen Demand for Good Governance and Accountability

## In Sustaining Governance Reform

| Approaches | Description | |------------|-------------| | **Use collective action or citizen groups.** | This approach is based on forming citizens groups to instigate demand for good governance and accountability for sustaining governance reform. Adopting an approach of using collective action thus implies that citizens as a group interact with the government, rather than on an individual basis. The techniques that can be used to implement this approach are the following: (1) form citizens’ organizations that function autonomously from the government, (2) provide citizens with training for facing the risks of demanding better governance, (3) create physical spaces for argument and dialogue about governance, (4) use information and communication technologies (ICT) to build communication networks and communities of practice, (5) provide citizens with easy access to information that explains the reform project, (6) communicate in language that is easily understandable, and (7) strengthen relationships with the media for advocacy and intervention. | | **Conduct deliberation.** | This approach engages the citizenry in deliberation to activate their demand for good governance and accountability, ensuring the sustainability of governance reform. The deliberative process leads citizens to express their views on specific policies related to governance. The deliberative approach is based on the rationale that when citizens are allowed to discuss governance issues, not only do they become more informed about these issues, but they also gain awareness of having the ability to demand better governance. The techniques that can be used to implement this approach include Deliberative Polls® for creating physical spaces for argument and dialogue; organizing deliberative opinion polls; using media, such as television programs, for deliberation; and mediating deliberation so that (1) competing demands can be resolved, (2) the demands are realistic, (3) the outcome is non-violent, and (4) the deliberation is not dominated by privileged groups. | | **Engage in dialogue** | This approach seeks to engage reformers in dialogue with those who are affected by the reform to generate public support for reform objectives. Instead of using one-way or monologic communication, which is sent from reformers to stakeholders, this approach uses a two-way model, by which information flows back and forth between the reformers | the various stakeholder groups. This approach allows affected stakeholders to voice their support or disapproval of the planned reforms. The techniques that can be used to implement this approach include the following: (1) provide citizens with easy access to information that explains the reform project, (2) communicate in language that is easily understandable, (3) use appropriate communication tools that reach the right people, (4) respond to citizens’ demands and needs, and (5) gather sufficient material resources to support the pro-reform campaign.

| Use subsidiarity or small governance units. | |--------------------------------------------| | This approach derives from the political philosophy that small governance units should exercise power. In other words, demand for governance should be instigated at the local level and inside relatively small units of governance. The techniques that can be used to implement this approach include framing the governance issues in terms of the local setting, researching the local setting where governance reforms might be implemented, engaging in consultation with the marginalized members of society, communicating in language that is easily understandable, and providing citizens with training to face the risks of demanding better governance. |

| Techniques | |------------| | Research the local setting and frame the issues accordingly. | | This technique advocates that proper research must be performed in order to understand the local setting where the reforms will be implemented. It is based on the understanding that reform-related work, whether by citizen instigation or in actual implementation, can only be properly carried out when the local context has been thoroughly understood. Additionally, instead of generalizing the governance issues under scrutiny, concerns may also be framed by taking into account nuances in the local context. |

| Create physical spaces for argument, dialogue and dissemination of information about governance. | | This technique suggests that citizens should be allowed to congregate in physical spaces where they can receive information about governance and may engage in arguments and dialogue about issues related to governance. It is expected that such spaces will be useful for instigating demand for better governance. |

| Form citizen organizations that function autonomously from the government | | This technique recommends that citizens be organized into groups that are autonomous from the government and have the authority to scrutinize the governing authority to demand better governance. |

| Mediate deliberation so that competing demands can be resolved, demands are realistic, outcomes are non-violent, and deliberation is not dominated by privileged groups. | | This is a technique for ensuring that deliberations lead to constructive outcomes. It is geared toward controlling certain problems that might arise in deliberative environments, such as a deliberative opinion poll or a television program. |

### Organize a Deliberative Poll®

This technique is a form of public consultation that uses randomly selected and representative groups of citizens to assess how public opinion would change if they became better informed and more engaged in an issue. First, the sample is polled on a given issue. Then the participants are provided with additional background information on the issue. After deliberation, the sample is polled once again to assess any change in opinion. With a highly representative sample, the conclusions will likely be representative of a broader public that has become more informed. This technique of organizing a Deliberative Poll has certain salient features: First, the sample should be representative of the population from which it is drawn. Second, the Deliberative Poll leads to changes in public opinion on politics and policy. Third, opinion poll results are able to show that respondents gained information by participating in Deliberative Polling. Fourth, analysis can demonstrate that the change in public opinion is caused by the gain in information. Fifth, the change in public opinion, however, does not correlate with any socio-demographic factors, such as education and gender. Sixth, deliberation leads to stronger preferences, which are also called single-peaked preferences. Seventh, the opinions of the pre-deliberation group do not get reinforced toward the extremes. Eighth, the group’s opinion is not unduly influenced by the more privileged—because of education or income, for instance—members of the group.

### Consult marginalized members of society.

This technique recommends that the pro-reform advocates keep in touch with those who are marginalized from mainstream society; for example, citizens who are illiterate. This approach will allow reformers to be aware of the demands of the marginalized members.

### Train citizens to manage risk.

Provide citizens training to face the risks of demanding better governance. When citizens demand better governance, they are subject to various physical and psychological risks, such as the threat of attack from a corrupt politician.

### Use media, such as television programs, for deliberation and dialogue.

This is a technique for creating deliberative environments within the media. For example, a television program like Sanglap in Bangladesh can be used as a forum where citizens can engage in dialogue with politicians and voice their opinions regarding governance. Similarly, radio and print can be used to raise the profile of corruption as an issue that concerns people. A few principles should be followed when one creates such deliberative forums. First, these forums should maintain a neutral political platform so the debate can be constructive. Second, the participants have to be recruited carefully so that the group is somewhat representative of the larger population. Third, the population has to be researched regularly to determine the degree to which participation in such debates or dialogues leads to a continued practice of demanding accountability, and also to determine whether perceptions about the levels of government accountability have increased or remained unchanged. Theories of Behavior Change

Defining Theories of Behavior Change

Behavior change is often a goal for staff working directly with constituents, organizations, governments, or communities. Individuals charged with this task can be thought of as “interventionists” whose goal it is to design and implement programs or interventions that produce the desired behavioral changes1 (Glanz, Lewis, & Rimmers, 1990, p. 17). As Glanz, Lewis, and Rimmers1 suggest, designing interventions to yield behavior is best done with an understanding of behavior change theories and an ability to use them in practice (1990, p. 19). The goal of this Gravitas, therefore, is to introduce three major theories of behavior change, describe the key variables of behavior change models, and to explore the link between behavior change and attitude.

The Key Elements of Behavior Change

Before exploring behavior change models in depth, it is important to understand the variables that are essential to the models. Below is a select list of the variables common to many behavior change models2 as well ways to maximize on these variables when attempting to evoke a behavior change.

| Key Element | Definition | Strategies for Behavior Change | |-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Threat | A danger or a harmful event of which people may or may not be aware. | Raise awareness that the threat exists, focusing on severity and susceptibility. | | Fear | Emotional arousal caused by perceiving a significant and personally relevant threat. | Fear can powerfully influence behavior and, if it is channeled in the appropriate way, can motivate people to seek information, but it can also cause people to deny they are at-risk. | | Response Efficacy | Perception that a recommended response will prevent the threat from happening. | Provide evidence of examples that the recommended response will avert the threat. |

(continued)

1 Glanz, K., Lewis, F. M., & Rimmers, B. K. (Eds.). (1990). Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

2 Witte, K. (1997). Research review theory-based interventions and evaluations of outreach efforts [electronic version]. Planning and Evaluating Information Outreach among Minority Communities: Model Development Based on Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest. Retrieved January 29, 2006 from http://nnlm.gov/archive/pnr/eval/witte.html. Major Theories of Behavior Change

1. Social Cognitive Theory

Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory proposes that people are driven not by inner forces, but by external factors. This model suggests that human functioning can be explained by a triadic interaction of behavior, personal and environmental factors (see figure 1). This is often known as reciprocal determinism. Environmental factors represent situational influences and environment in which behavior is performed while personal factors include instincts, drives, traits, and other individual motivational forces. Several constructs underlie the process of human learning and behavior change. These variables may also intervene in the process of behavior change.

______________________________________________________________________

3 Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. 4 Perry, C. L., Barnowski, T., & Parcel, G. S. (1990). How individuals, environments, and health behavior interact: Social learning theory. In K. Glanz, F. M. Lewis & B. K. Rimer (Eds.), Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory Research and Practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. • **Self-efficacy** — A judgment of one’s ability to perform the behavior.

• **Outcome Expectations** — A judgment of the likely consequences a behavior will produce. The importance of these expectations (i.e., expectancies) may also drive behavior.

• **Self-Control** — The ability of an individual to control their behaviors.

• **Reinforcements** — Something that increases or decreases the likelihood a behavior will continue.

• **Emotional Coping** — The ability of an individual to cope with emotional stimuli.

• **Observational Learning** — The acquisition of behaviors by observing actions and outcomes of others’ behavior.

**How can this theory inform your practice?**

• To increase levels of self-efficacy it may be important to provide resources and support to raise individual confidence. Others have suggested that to raise self-efficacy behavior change should be approached as a series of small steps.4

• Bandura3 writes that even when individuals have a strong sense of efficacy they may not perform the behavior if they have no incentive. This seems to suggest that if we are interested in getting others to enact behavior change it may be important to provide incentives and rewards for the behaviors.

• Shaping the environment may encourage behavior change. This may include providing opportunities for behavioral change, assisting with those changes, and offering social support.4 It is important to recognize environmental constraints that might deter behavior change.

2. **Theory of Planned Behavior**5,6,7

The theory of planned behavior (figure 2) suggests that behavior is dependent on one’s intention to perform the behavior. Intention is determined by an individual’s attitude (beliefs and values about the outcome of the behavior) and subjective norms (beliefs about what other people think the person should do or general social pressure). Behavior is also determined by an individual’s perceived behavioral control, defined as an individual’s perceptions of their ability or feelings of self-efficacy to perform behavior. This relationship is typically dependent on the type of relationship and the nature of the situation.

______________________________________________________________________

5 Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of Planned Behavior. *Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes*, 50, 179–211.

6 Armitage, C., & Conner, M. (2001). Efficacy of the theory of planned behaviour: A meta-analytic review. *British Journal of Social Psychology*, 40, 471–499.

7 Grizzell, J. (2007, 1/27/2007). Behavior Change Theories and Models. Retrieved January 28, 2007, from http://www.csupomona.edu/~jvgrizzell/best_practices/bctheory.html. How can this theory inform your practice?

- Intention has been shown to be the most important variable in predicting behavior change, suggesting that behaviors are often linked with one's personal motivation. This suggests that it may be important to present information to help shape positive attitudes towards the behavior and stress subjective norms or opinions that support the behavior.

- For perceived behavioral control to influence behavior change, much like with self-efficacy, a person must perceive that they have the ability to perform the behavior. Therefore, as Grizzel suggests, perceived control over opportunities, resources, and skills needed is an important part of the change process.

3. Transtheoretical (Stages of Change) Model

The transtheoretical model (figure 3) proposes change as a process of six stages. Precontemplation is the stage in which people are not intending to make a change in the near future (often defined as the next 6 months). Contemplation is the stage where people intend to change (within the next 6 months). People in this stage are aware of the pros of changing but also can identify the cons. Preparation represents the stage where people have a plan of action and intend to take action in the immediate future (within a month). Action is the stage in which people make the behavior change and maintenance represents the stage where people work to prevent relapse. Finally, termination represents that stage where individuals have 100 percent efficacy and will maintain their behavior. This stage is the most difficult to maintain, so many people remain a lifetime in maintenance.

How can this theory inform your practice?

- It is essential to match behavior change interventions to people's stages. For example, if an individual is in the precontemplation stage it is important to raise their awareness about a behavior in order for them to contemplate making a behavior change.

- Without a planned intervention, people will remain stuck in the early stages due to a lack of motivation to move through the stages. Prochaska, Johnson, and Lee suggest a series of activities that have received empirical support, which help individuals progress through the stages:

  - Consciousness-Raising — increasing awareness of the causes (providing educational materials, confrontation, media campaigns, feedback, etc.)
  - Dramatic Relief — producing an emotional experience which is followed by a reduced affect if some action can be taken (personal testimonies, media campaigns, drama)
  - Self-reevaluation — inviting individuals to make cognitive and emotional assessments of their self image (clarify values, provide healthy models, using imagery)
  - Environmental reevaluation — assessments of how the presence or absence of a behavior might impact one's social environment (documentaries, personal stories, family interventions)

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8 Godin, G., & Kok, G. (1995). The theory of planned behavior: A review of its applications to health-related behaviors. *American Journal of Health Promotion, 11*, 87–98.

9 Prochaska, J., Johnson, S., & Lee, P. (1998). The transtheoretical model of behavior change. In S. Schumaker, E. Schron, J. Ockene & W. McBee (Eds.), *The Handbook of Health Behavior Change*, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer. What if attitude change (as opposed to behavior) is your goal?

Behavior change may not always be your goal. It may become a priority to change attitude or public opinion about some issue. You might also wish to change attitude before behaviors. Whatever your goal, it is important to understand how individuals adopt attitudes. Existing research is also helpful in defining the process of attitude change.

CONCEPTUALIZING ATTITUDE

Scholars Zanna and Rempel(^\\text{10}) view attitude as having many causes. They view attitude not as something stable or predisposed to the individual, but as something that might change based on internal or external cues. Figure 4 illustrates how attitude is generated from cognition (a source of information), affect (feelings, emotions associated with an object that can influence attitude), and past behaviors. Individuals evaluate new sources of information against previous or other information and evaluate it as favorable or unfavorable.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHANGING ATTITUDE (ZANNA & REMPEL, 1998)

When presenting information to change attitudes it is important that the information is consistent and congruent so that individuals can form a single attitude about an object.(^\\text{10})

- When attempting to change attitudes it may be advantageous for persuaders to use multiple methods. These methods may include a) disseminating information, b) including messages that are high in affect or emotion, or c) messages that connect attitudes to past behaviors.(^\\text{10})

- Since individual characteristics are usually stable over time, Herek(^\\text{11}) suggests that efforts should focus on changing perceptions about groups or objects and creating situations that will foster attitude change. Herek also suggests “priming” whereby situational factors prime a person to be more receptive to a message (for example, asking about a related issue for which the individual might hold a favorable position).

- Remember that attitude may not directly cause a behavior change! Kim and Hunter(^\\text{12}) showed that behavior intent acts as a mediator in attitude-behavior relationships. Behavioral intent is someone’s willingness to engage in various behaviors. This implies that when striving to change attitudes (and eventually behaviors) it is important to stress the benefits of performing the behavior, the social appropriateness of performing the behavior, and positive affect for the behavior.(^\\text{12})

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(^{10}) Zanna, M. P., & Rempel, J. K. (1988). Attitudes: A new look at an old concept. In D. Bartal & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), *The social psychology of knowledge*, 315–334. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

(^{11}) Herek, G. (1986). The instrumentality of attitudes: Toward a neofunctional theory. *Journal of Social Issues*, 42:2, 99–114.

(^{12}) Kim, M. S., & Hunter, J. E. (1993). Relationships among attitudes, behavioral intentions, and behavior: A meta-analysis of past research, part 2. *Communication Research*, 20:3, 331–364. THEORIES OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE

This resource guide is designed to provide additional information on the theories of behavior change. This guide provides additional journal articles, books, and useful websites on behavior change that offer a more in-depth understanding of the concept.

Journal Articles on the Topic of Attitude and Behavior Change

ATTITUDE CHANGE

- Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. *Psychological Bulletin, 84*, 888–918.
- Farr, A.C., Witte, K., Jarato, K., & Menard, T. (2005). The Effectiveness of Media Use in Health Education: Evaluation of an HIV/AIDS Television Campaign in Ethiopia. *Journal of Health Communication, 10*(3), 225–235.
- Katz, D. (1960). The functional approach to attitudes. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 24*, 163–204.
- Kendrick, A., & Fullerton, J. A. (2004). Advertising as Public Diplomacy: Attitude Change among International Audiences. *Journal of Advertising Research, 44*(3), 297–311.
- Zanna, M. P., & Rempel, J. K. (1988). Attitudes: A new look at an old concept. In D. Bar-Tal & A. W. Krug-lanski (Eds.), *The social psychology of knowledge* (pp. 315–334). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR

- Ajzen, (1991). The theory of planned behavior. *Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50*, 179–211.
- Godin, G., & Kok, G. (1996). The theory of planned behavior: A review of its applications to health-related behaviors. *American Journal of Health Promotion, 11*, 87–98.
- Lee, H., Ebesu Hubbard, A., O’Riordan, C.K., & Kim, M. (2006). Incorporating Culture into the Theory of Planned Behavior: Predicting Smoking Cessation Intentions among College Students. *Asian Journal of Communication, 16*(3), 315–332.
- Welbourne, J., & Booth-Butterfield, S. (2005). Using the Theory of Planned Behavior and a Stage Model of Persuasion to Evaluate a Safety Message for Firefighters. *Health Communication, 18*(2), 141–154. THEORIES OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY

- Bandura A. (1977b). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. *Psychological Review, 84*: 191–215.
- Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. *American Psychologist, 37*(122–147).
- Wood, R., & Bandura, A. (1989). Social Cognitive Theory of Organizational Management *The Academy of Management Review, 14*(3), 361–384.

STAGE THEORIES

- Fava, J. L., Velicer, W. F., & Prochaska, J. O. (1995). Applying the Transtheoretical Model to a representative sample of smokers. *Addictive Behaviors, 20*, 189–203.
- Prochaska, J. O., Diclemente, C. C, & Norcross, J. C. (1992). In search of how people change. *American Psychologist, 47*, 1102–1114.
- Prochaska, J. O., Johnson, S. S., & Lee, P. (1998). The transtheoretical model of behavior change. IN E. Schron, J. Ockene, S. Schumaker, & W. M. Exum (Eds.), *The handbook of behavioral change (2nd. Ed.)* New York, NJ: Springer.
- Weinstein, N. D. Rothman, A. J., & Sutton, S. R. (1998). Stage theories of health behavior: Conceptual and methodological issues. *Health Psychology, 17*, 290–299.

BOOKS ON ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE

- Bandura A. (1986). *Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory*. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Bandura, A. (1997). *Self-efficacy: The exercise of control*. New York: Freeman.
- Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K. & Lewis, F. M. (2002). *Health Behavior and Health Education. Theory, Research and Practice*. San Fransisco: Wiley & sons.

WEBSITES FOCUSING ON BEHAVIOR CHANGE THEORY

- *Albert Bandura Biographical Sketch* This site, designed by F. Pajares (2004) provides a complete biographical sketch of Albert Bandura and information about his work on social cognitive theory. http://des.emory.edu/mfp/bandurabio.html
- *Cancer Prevention Research Center* One of the originators of the Transtheoretical or Stages of Change Model serves as director of the Cancer Prevention Research Center. This site provides one of the best overviews of the Transtheoretical model. http://www.uri.edu/research/cprc/transtheoretical.htm
- *Communication Initiative Network* This group hosts an online site for connecting with people and organizations using communication as a strategy for economic/social development and change. This site describes many of the major behavior change theories as well as provides current research and information. http://www.comminit.com/ • *Icek Ajzen’s Website* Personal website of Icek Aizen, originator of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Website contains full list of publications as well as resources for use of the Theory of Planned Behavior. http://www.people.umass.edu/aizen/ Social norms can be understood as either “what most people think and do” or, alternatively, “what individuals believe most people think and do.” As such, social norms are about what’s considered normal or ought to be normal in a given context and situation. Stated differently, norms reflect real or perceived majority opinion and behavior.

Social norms exert influence on people’s attitudes and behavior. This influence is strongest when individuals are uncertain about the “right way” to think and/or act. In these situations, people tend to survey their social and physical environments for attitudinal and behavioral cues or consider what they believe others think they should do. While the research literature includes many types of norms and discusses them from various perspectives, the intersection of social psychology and communication provides promising opportunities for increased understanding of the ways in which norms operate on the ground. The reason for this is simple: for norms to exert social influence, they must be communicated between and among people.

Definitions

Formally, “norms are of an informational nature, they help to understand and define situations and specific events within that situation.”1 Norms spread through social interaction; they “… are social phenomena propagated among group members through communication.”2

It is important to differentiate between actual and perceived norms. Actual norms (or what some scholars refer to as “collective norms”) are codes of conduct that are, in reality, shared by the group, community, or culture. These types of norms indicate which behaviors members of a group can and should enact, and emerge through interaction among members of a group or collective. Since collective norms are rarely codified, they are open to misrepresentation and misperception by individuals. The fact that actual norms are often misinterpreted underscores the importance of perceived norms, which are individuals’ interpretations, often incorrect,3 of prevailing collective or actual norms.

1 Fazio, R. H. (1990). Multiple processes by which attitudes guide behaviors: The MODE model as an integrative framework. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 23, pp. 75–109). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. 2 Kincaid, D. L. (2004). From innovation to social norm: Bounded normative influence. Journal of Health Communication, 9, 37–57. 3 For which reason simply adding up the perceived norms of individuals (as is done in opinion polls) is not likely to result in an accurate reflection of actual or collective norms. Social science researchers have made various attempts to study and change perceived norms, whether to bring them more in line with actual norms so that people are better informed or to persuade people to avoid risky behavior, such as binge drinking or illicit drug use. Studies have found that influencing two types of norms is particularly effective in efforts toward changing people’s attitudes and behavior: injunctive and descriptive norms. Understanding these types of norms leads to practical options in crafting persuasive messages and harnessing the power of normative influence.

**Injunctive norms** refer to people’s beliefs about what “ought to be done.” Individuals act in accordance with that norm out of fear of social sanctions. Similar to injunctive norms are what some scholars call “subjective norms,” which are essentially what others (particular people deemed important by the individual) think ought to be done.

**Descriptive norms**, in contrast, do not refer to what individuals think ought to be done, but what most people do. As such, these norms merely “describe” what may be popular in the social environment. More specifically, these are based on perceptions of what is done by most members of one’s social group. Unlike injunctive norms, there are typically no social sanctions for non-compliance with descriptive norms.

**Norms and Behavior**

It is no surprise that human action is guided, in large part, by perceptions of the popularity of certain behaviors. Key determinants of whether an individual will engage in a behavior is whether others also engage in that behavior (descriptive norm) and/or whether others believe one should engage in the behavior (injunctive norm). Taking stock of one’s social environment helps individuals live their day-to-day lives more efficiently, but it can also lead to the adoption of negative behaviors. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that conforming to social norms is often a good choice because “collective wisdom tends to serve the individual, and the group, well.” Norms aid people in decision making by allowing them to take into account what most people do or what the majority thinks should be done. By following the group, we are able to make decisions more quickly, reduce our own anxiety, and on balance, make fewer mistakes because what most people usually do is likely to be socially acceptable behavior. The influence of these descriptive norms on behavior is stronger when they are in line with injunctive norms. This is not to say that what is “usually done” is morally or ethically sound, important judgments which are beyond the scope of this paper.

Research has found that the influence norms exert on behavior is either strengthened or weakened by the following factors: outcome expectations; group identity; and ego involvement.

______________________________________________________________________

4 To mitigate misinformed individual and aggregated opinion (e.g., “pluralistic ignorance,” “false consensus,” “false uniqueness”). 5 Lapinski, M. K. & Rimal, R. N. (2005, pp. 129–133). An explication of social norms. *Communication Theory, 15*(2), 127–147. 6 Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & Kallgren, C. A. (1990). A focus theory of normative conduct: Recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58*, 1015–1026. 7 Ajzen, I. & Fishbein, M. (1980). *Theory of Reasoned Action*; Ajzen, I. (1988). *Theory of Planned Behavior*. 8 Cialdini, R. B. (2001), as cited in Lapinski, M. K. & Rimal, R. N. (2005, p. 128). An explication of social norms. *Communication Theory, 15*(2), 127–147. 9 Lapinski, M. K. & Rimal, R. N. (2005, pp. 134–137). An explication of social norms. *Communication Theory, 15*(2), 127–147. Outcome expectations refer to the belief that a specific behavior will lead to desired benefits. Roughly speaking, these expectations are based on a weighing of the costs and benefits associated with behaving in a certain way: “when the high prevalence of a behavior is accompanied by beliefs that the behavior results in significant benefits, individuals are more likely to engage in the behavior.”

Group identity: When individuals feel connected to a group, the descriptive norms of that “reference group” influence how they act. Conformity with group norms is likely because it makes people feel good (also called positive affect). In addition, it is assumed that if one does not act in accordance with the norm, this will be known by other members of the group, leading to ostracism and social sanctions.

Ego involvement refers to the extent to which a person’s sense of self (or self-concept) is related to one’s position on a particular issue. When a certain behavior is strongly associated with one’s self-concept, descriptive norms have more influence on behavior.

Norms and communication

Communication is directly relevant to “formulating perceptions about norms” (e.g., people judge from what they see in the media how prevalent a behavior is). It is also reasonable to argue that the very basis of norm adoption is communication, which acts “as a ‘conduit of influence.’” People base their behavioral decisions on perceived social support or opposition communicated through the social environment.

However, people often misperceive norms, and the extent of this misperception is affected by the extent of interpersonal communication among people about a given norm. Incorrect information about true collective norms is often circulated through interpersonal communication, and “individual communication patterns play a key role in the development of normative perceptions.”

Communication approaches applicable to the spread of norms in society include the following: Cultivation Theory; Diffusion of Innovations; Social Cognitive Theory; and Uncertainty Reduction Theory.

Social Cognitive Theory: Individuals learn about behaviors through exposure and attention to media messages.

Cultivation Theory: Exposure to media messages, over time, affects the perceived prevalence of certain actions. For example, heavy television viewers, compared to light viewers, assume that behaviors most often depicted on television are indeed most prevalent in society.

Diffusion of Innovations: Most people learn about new ideas and behaviors from individuals they consider knowledgeable and credible (also called “opinion leaders”). Interpersonal communication is therefore crucial in the spread and wide adoption of norms.

10 Rimal, R. N. & Real, K. (2003), as cited in Lapinski, M. K. & Rimal, R. N. (2005, p. 134). An explication of social norms. Communication Theory, 15(2), 127–147. 11 Lapinski, M. K. & Rimal, R. N. (2005, p. 127). An explication of social norms. Communication Theory, 15(2), 127–147. 12 Ibid. p. 127. 13 Ibid. p. 132. 14 Ibid. p. 137. 15 Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 16 Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., & Signorillii, N. (1994). Growing up with television: The cultivation perspective. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 17–41). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 17 Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorillii, 1994. 18 Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations. (4th ed.). New York: Free Press. Uncertainty Reduction Theory\\textsuperscript{19,20}. People find the experience of uncertainty unpleasant and are motivated to reduce it through interpersonal communication. An important “factor which reduces uncertainty between communicators is the degree of similarity individuals perceive in each other (e.g., background, attitudes, and appearance).\\textsuperscript{21}

Changing Norms through Communication Influence

Changing norms through communication campaigns is most prevalent in the health communication literature. Examples revolve around efforts to reduce risky behavior, such as binge drinking, smoking, and unsafe sexual practices. Guided by what we have learned about the links between communication and normative influence, these communication campaigns are often designed to “correct misperceptions about the prevalence of behaviors with the belief that correcting these misperceptions will result in behavior change.”\\textsuperscript{22} For a review of communication campaigns targeting descriptive norms, please see Borsari & Carey.\\textsuperscript{23}

The same authors\\textsuperscript{24} carried out a meta-analysis of 23 studies on the role of norms in alcohol consumption at the college level in the United States. Communication campaigns have sought to change norms of students who, in general, initially tend to believe that most of their peers drink more than they do or think that it’s socially acceptable to do so. Here are some promising results:

- Communication campaigns were able to reduce the perception among college students that most others drink more than they do (changing descriptive norms).
- Communication campaigns that targeted descriptive norms reduced self-reported alcohol use (changing self-reported behavior through changing descriptive norms).
- A month after exposure to a communication campaign targeting students who live in dormitories and fraternities/sororities, these students self-reported decreases in perceived approval of drinking among friends and the “typical student”\\textsuperscript{25} (changing injunctive norms).
- Perceived norms about groups whose members are deemed similar to oneself (a sense of shared or group identity) are more influential in attitude and behavior change than perceived norms about groups which are considered different.

\\textsuperscript{19} Berger, C. R. (1987). Communicating under uncertainty. In M. E. Roloff & G. R. Miller (Eds.), \\textit{Interpersonal processes} (pp. 39–62). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. \\textsuperscript{20} Berger, C. R. & Calabrese, R. (1975). Some explorations in initial interactions and beyond: Toward a development theory of interpersonal communication. \\textit{Human Communication Research, 1}, 99–112. \\textsuperscript{21} http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Interpersonal%20Communication%20and%20Relations/Uncertainty_Reduction_Theory.doc/ \\textsuperscript{22} Berkowitz, A. D. (2004), as cited in Lapinski, M. K. & Rimal, R. N. (2005, p. 137). An explication of social norms. \\textit{Communication Theory, 15}(2), 127–147. \\textsuperscript{23} Borsari, B. & Carey, K. B. (2001). Peer influences on college drinking: A review of the research. \\textit{Journal of Substance Abuse, 13}, 391–424. \\textsuperscript{24} Borsari, B. & Carey, K. B. (2003). Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: A metaanalytic integration. \\textit{Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64}, 331–341. \\textsuperscript{25} Barnett et al. (1996), as cited in Borsari & Carey (2003). Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: A metaanalytic integration. \\textit{Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64}, 331–341. OPINION LEADERSHIP

Definitions

“...the degree to which an individual is able informally to influence other individuals' attitudes or overt behavior in a desired way with relative frequency. Opinion leaders are individuals who lead in influencing others' opinions about innovations. The behavior of opinion leaders is important in determining the rate of adoption of an innovation in a system.” (Roger, 2003, p. 130)

“What we shall call opinion leadership, if we may call it leadership at all, is leadership at its simplest: it is casually exercised, sometimes unwitting and unbeknown, within the smallest grouping of friends, family members, and neighbors. It is not leadership on the high level of Churchill, nor of a local politico; it is the almost invisible, certainly inconspicuous form of leadership at the person-to-person level of ordinary, intimate, informal, everyday contacts” (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955, p. 138)

“Opinion leadership is not really leadership in its common meaning and connotations. Opinion leader is not an authoritative, charismatic or leading figure but rather a position of an expert among his or her peers, a source of advice on a particular issue or subject.” (Weimann, 1994, p. 75)

“An opinion leader is defined as an individual who serves as a source of information for a wide range of individuals and shapes the opinion of many.” (Jaccard & Levinson, 1995)

Further Explanation

The idea of opinion leadership grew out of a context where mass media scholars were skeptical about the ability of the mass media to directly influence the public, as the hypodermic needle model had asserted. An alternative explanation was provided by the two step flow model, which developed out of a 1940 presidential election study in Erie County, Ohio. The findings of this study, reported in a publication titled People's Choice (Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet, 1944), highlighted three important points that were later outlined by Katz (1957). First, most people who had changed their political support during the election campaign cited personal influence as the primary reason for their decisions. Second, "the flow of personal influence was activated by certain individuals who were to be found on every level of society and, presumably, were very much like the people whom they influenced" (Weimann, 1994, p. 12). Third, the opinion leaders who had influenced the other voters were more exposed to the mass media, so the researchers concluded that “ideas often flow from radio and print to opinion leaders and from them to the less active sections of the population.” (Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet, 1944, p. 51) Merton (1949), based on a study conducted in New Jersey, classified the opinion leaders into the following dichotomies. First, the real and potential opinion leaders. Second, the local and cosmopolitan opinion leaders. Third, the monomorphous and polymorphous opinion leaders (or those who exercise their influence in a limited number of spheres and variety of spheres respectively).

Katz (1957) explained that “influence is related (1) to the personification of certain values (who one is); (2) to competence (what one knows); and (3) to strategic social location (whom one knows).” (p. 73) For example, as Katz mentioned, young unmarried girls are fashion leaders because of their youthfulness (or who they are), which is highly valued; older women are marketing advisers due to their experience (what they know); and gregarious people are leaders because they know a lot of people.

Weimann (1994) outlined the salient characteristics of opinion leaders. First, opinion leaders are usually more knowledgeable about and interested in their area of expertise than non-leaders, although intelligence is not a good predictor of opinion leadership. Second, opinion leaders are usually more cosmopolitan. Third, opinion leaders are usually early adopters of innovations. Also, “when the opinion leaders are also the innovators they tend to be more venturesome, less dogmatic.” (Weimann, 1994, p. 77) Fourth, opinion leaders have a more “independent and individualistic approach based on their knowledge, status, and self-confidence” than non-leaders (Weimann, 1994, p. 79). Fifth, opinion leaders are more gregarious and sociable than non-leaders. Sixth, opinion leaders have high social accessibility and they are positioned at the center of their social networks. Seventh, opinion leaders “enjoy social recognition, comprising credibility, trustworthiness, and confidence” (Weimann, 1994, p. 83).

The traditional method of identifying opinion leaders, as mediating the flow of information between the media and the masses, was criticized because it stressed on the limited direct effects of mass media. That is, critics argued that mass media do have significant direct effects. Other criticism included creating a neat division between the leaders and non-leaders and ignoring the possibility that the information could flow through multiple steps instead of being a two-step flow.

This criticism and the realization that a more sophisticated method of measuring opinion leadership was required led to the development of the Strength of Personality Scale (PS) by the German scholar Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann at the Allensbach Institute. This scale includes ten items that are weighted according to their part-whole correlations with the total scale.

| Item | Weight of Yes | Weight of No | |------|--------------|--------------| | 1) I usually count on being successful in everything I do | 13 | 7 | | 2) I am rarely unsure about how I should behave | 14 | 7 | | 3) I like to assume responsibility | 15 | 7 | | 4) I like to take the lead when the group does things together | 17 | 8 | | 5) I enjoy convincing others of my opinions | 15 | 7 | | 6) I often notice that I serve as a model for others | 16 | 8 | | 7) I am good at getting what I want | 14 | 7 | | 8) I am often a step ahead of others | 18 | 9 | | 9) I own many things others envy me for | 15 | 9 | | 10) I often give others advice and suggestions | 12 | 6 |

Maximum Score: 149 Minimum Score: 75 Measurements using this scale, reported by Weimann (1994) revealed that those ranking high on PS had the following characteristics:

1. They are strong communicators of information
2. They are located at the center of their social networks
3. They read more books and newspapers
4. They participate in sports
5. They spend more time with friends
6. They go for more trips
7. They go to the movies, theaters, and concerts more often

However, higher PS individuals do not watch more television or listen to more radio. Also, there isn’t sufficient empirical evidence for the hypothesis that those with high PS scores play a role in agenda setting.

Examples

The following are some highlights from research on opinion leadership:

1. Research by Jaccard & Levinson (1995) “applied the construct of opinion leadership to the health area of AIDS. Approximately 290 college students completed a questionnaire that identified individuals whom peers tended to use as sources of information about AIDS. The results showed that, among men, the AIDS opinion leaders tended to have a larger number of sexual partners than their non-leader counterparts and that they were no more likely to practice safer sex or be more knowledgeable about safer sex. Female AIDS opinion leaders tended to engage in less sexual activity than their non-leader counterparts, but showed a greater reluctance to communicate with men about condom use. In addition, female AIDS opinion leaders were neither more knowledgeable about safer sex nor more likely to engage in safer sex than were their nonleader counterparts.”

2. Research by Summers (1970) found that opinion leaders in the arena of women’s fashion have the following characteristics: emotional stability, assertiveness, likeability, organizational involvement, and self confidence. Also, these opinion leaders were younger and had higher socio-economic status.

3. Weimann (1994) listed a number of studies that have reported the importance of personal influence in spreading information related to product marketing.

4. A study by Hellevik and Bjorklund (1991) reported that the majority of opinion leaders in politics held extreme political views.

5. A study by Rosario (1971) reported that opinion leaders in the domain of family planning usually possessed the following characteristics. First, they are more sensitive than non-leaders to the information pertaining to that domain. Second, they are more knowledgeable about that domain. Third, they are more outgoing and sociable. Fourth, their knowledge is considered credible by non-leaders.

6. A study, by Crane (1972), of Rural Sociology literature revealed that only 6 out of 203 authors produced 52% of the innovations in the field, so they were clearly the opinion leaders influencing the rest of the field.

7. Research by Kelly (1990, 1991) reported that intervention through opinion leaders decreased high risk behavior among members of a HIV prone community. Selected References

Weimann, G. (2004). *The influentials: People who influence people*. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Katz, E. (1957). The two step flow of communication: An up-to-date report on an hypothesis. *Public Opinion Quarterly*, 21, 61–78. Katz, E. & Lazarsfeld, P. F. (1955). *Personal Influence*. New York: The Free Press. Summers, J. O. (1970). The identity of women’s clothing fashion opinion leadership. *Journal of Marketing Research*, 7, 178–185. Rosario, F. Z. (1971). The leader in family planning and the two-step flow model. *Journalism Quarterly*, 48, 288–297. Defining Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication takes place when individuals influenced by different cultural communities negotiate shared meanings in interaction.(^1) What counts as intercultural communication depends in part on what one considers a culture, and the definition of culture itself is quite contestable. Some authorities limit the term “intercultural communication” to refer only to communication among individuals from different nationalities.(^2) Other authorities, in contrast, expand the notion of intercultural communication to encompass inter-ethnic, inter-religious, and even inter-regional communication, as well as communication among individuals of different sexual orientations.(^3,4)

In this sense, all interactions can be arrayed along some continuum of “interculturalness.”(^5) Interactions are most highly intercultural when individuals’ group identities are most salient in determining the values, prejudices, language, nonverbal behaviors, and relational styles upon which those individuals draw. To the degree that interactants are drawing more on personal or idiosyncratic values, personality traits, and experiences, the interaction can be characterized as more interpersonal than intercultural. When individuals from different cultural backgrounds become more intimate, their interactions typically move along the continuum from more intercultural to more interpersonal, though intercultural elements may always play a role. For casual or business communication, sensitivity to intercultural factors is key to success.

Communication and Group Identity

Traditional theories of group identity recognize two types of group identity:(^6)

1. **Ascribed identity** is the set of demographic and role descriptions that others in an interaction assume to hold true for you. Ascribed identity is often a function of one’s physical appearance, ethnic connotations of one’s name, or other stereotypical associations.

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1 Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). *Communicating across cultures*. New York: The Guilford Press. 2 Gudykunst, W. B. (2003). Intercultural communication: Introduction. In W.B. Gudykunst (Ed.), *Cross-cultural and intercultural communication*, 163–166. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 3 Martin, J. N. & Nakayama, T. K. (2007). *Intercultural communication in contexts*, 4th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill. 4 Samovar, L. A., & Porter, R. E. (2004). *Communication between cultures*, 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press. 5 Gudykunst, W. B., & Kim, Y. Y. (2003). *Communicating with Strangers*, 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw Hill. 6 Collier, M. J. (1997). Cultural identity and intercultural communication. In L.A. Samovar and R.E. Porter (Eds.), *Intercultural communication: A reader*, 8th ed., 36–44. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press. 2. **Avowed identity** is comprised of the group affiliations that one feels most intensely. For example, if an individual is assimilated into a new culture, then the values and practices of that destination culture will figure importantly in her avowed culture. A related concept is **reference group**. A reference group is a social entity from which one draws one's avowed identity. It is a group in which one feels competent and at ease.

Ascribed and avowed identity are important for understanding intercultural communication, because a person from another culture usually communicates with you based on your ascribed identity; that is how you are being perceived by that other person. But sometimes your avowed identity—the groups with which you really feel a sense of comfort and affiliation—diverges from that ascribed identity. In such cases, the interaction is bound to be frustrating for both parties.

Recently, many identity theorists have moved toward a **Communication Theory of Identity (CTI)** or related ideas. According to this perspective, your cultural group membership is not a static label or fixed attribute. Rather, cultural identities are enacted or performed through interaction. One enacts identity through choice of language, nonverbal signs such as gesture and clothing, and discourse strategy. Depending on the situation and on your goals, you may enact identity in very different ways on different occasions. Cultural identity performances can vary along three dimensions:

- **Scope of Identity Performance**—How many aspects of one's behavior express cultural identity? For example, one may choose to eat a few ethnic-related foods, but reject ethnic dress. Or one may allude to national myths or sagas in speaking just with co-nationals, or may tell such stories at diverse occasions among diverse listeners.
- **Intensity of Identity Performance**—How powerfully does one enact one's identity? One may note in passing one's national origin, or one may make a point of proclaiming the centrality of national origin at every opportunity.
- **Salience of Identity Performance**—How obvious are the cultural elements of identity in one's daily routines? Ethnic dress, insistence on using one's first language over the host national language, or reliance solely on ethnic mass media are all ways in which one asserts identity.

### Intercultural Communication Competence and Ethnocentrism

What does it mean to be a competent communicator across cultures, and what are the elements or components of that competence? Some authorities link intercultural competence with identity; the competent communicator is the person who can affirm others' avowed identities. Other notions of intercultural competence focus on the communicator's goal attainment; the competent communicator is the person who can convey a sense of communication appropriateness and effectiveness in diverse cultural contexts.

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7 Hecht, M. L., Warren, J. R., Jung, E. & Krieger, J. L. (2005). The communication theory of identity: Development, theoretical perspective, and future directions. In W.R. Gudykunst (Ed.), *Theorizing about intercultural communication*, 257–278. Thousand Oaks, CA: sage.

8 Collier, M. J., & Thomas, M. (1988). Cultural identity: An interpretive perspective. In Y. Y. Kim and W. B. Gudykunst (Eds.), *Theories in intercultural communication. International and Intercultural Communication Annual*, 12, 99–120. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

9 Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). *Communicating across cultures*. New York: Guilford Press.

10 Wiseman, R. L. (2003). Intercultural communication competence. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), *Cross-cultural and intercultural communication*, 167–190. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Certainly proficiency in the host culture language is valuable for intercultural competence. But it is not enough to know the grammar and vocabulary of that language; the competent communicator will also understand language pragmatics like how to use politeness strategies in making requests or how to avoid giving out too much information.(^{11}) Equally important, competent communicators are sensitive to nonverbal communication patterns in other cultures.(^{12}) In addition to avoiding insults and gaffes by using gestures that may mean very different things in a host culture as opposed to one’s home culture, competent communicators understand how to use (or avoid) touch, proximity in physical space, and paralinguistic sounds to convey their intended meanings.

Traits that make for competent intercultural communicators include flexibility and the ability to tolerate high levels of uncertainty,(^{13}) reflectiveness or mindfulness,(^{14}) open-mindedness, sensitivity, adaptability, and the ability to engage in divergent and systems-level thinking.(^{15})

The foundation of intercultural communication competence is the capacity to avoid ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the inclination to view one’s own group as natural and correct, and all others as aberrant. We tend to think prescriptively, that all groups should behave as our own group behaves. And we are naturally proud of our own group and distrustful of others.(^{16}) Obviously a person who is highly ethnocentric cannot adapt to diverse people, and cannot communicate in an interculturally competent manner.

Some authorities hold that some degree of ethnocentrism is inevitable, and even functional for the preservation of distinct cultural groups. Competent communicators simply learn to suppress their natural ethnocentric reactions in order to better understand others on their own terms.(^{17}) Alternatively, it may be possible for individuals to evolve beyond ethnocentrism, to become ethnorelativistic. The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)(^{18}) is frequently used in intercultural training and assessment to chart individuals’ progress toward ethnorelativism. The model posits six stages:

1. Denial—The individual refuses to acknowledge cultural differences.
2. Defense—The individual begins to see cultural differences and is threatened by them.
3. Minimization—While individuals at this stage do acknowledge cultural differences, they see human universals as more salient than cultural distinctions.
4. Acceptance—The individual begins to accept significant cultural differences first in behaviors, and then in values.
5. Adaptation—The individual becomes more adept at intercultural communication by shifting perspectives to the other’s cultural world view.
6. Integration—Individuals at this stage begin to transcend their own native cultures. They define their identities and evaluate their actions in terms of multiple cultural perspectives.

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11 Gass, S. M., & Neu, J. (Eds.). (1996). *Speech acts across cultures: Challenges to communication in a second language*. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 12 Anderson, P. A., Hecht, M. L., Hoober, G. D., & Smallwood, M. (2003). In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), *Cross-cultural and intercultural communication*, 73–90. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 13 Gudykunst, W. B. (2005). An anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory of effective communication: Making the mesh of the net finer. In W.R. Gudykunst (Ed.), *Theorizing about intercultural communication*, 281–322. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 14 Langer, J. *Mindfulness*. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 15 Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). *Communicating across cultures*, 272. New York: Guilford Press. 16 Triandis, H. C. (1994). *Culture and social behavior*. New York: McGraw-Hill. 17 Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology*, 56, 5–18. 18 Bennett, J. M., & Bennett, M. J. (2004). Developing intercultural sensitivity: An integrative approach to global and domestic diversity. In D. Landis, J.M. Bennett, & M.J. Bennett (Eds.), *Handbook of intercultural training*, 3rd ed., 147–165. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Communicating Across Diverse World Views and Values

To communicate competently across cultures, individuals must understand some of the ways in which cultures diverge in their world views. The pioneer in pointing out the practical implications of differing world views was the anthropologist Edward Hall. For example, Hall explained that some cultures are monochronic. They regard time as segmentable, an almost tangible commodity. Monochronic cultures value schedules and can evolve efficient bureaucracies. Polychronic cultures, on the other hand, regard events as embedded in more of a simultaneous matrix of occurrences. Little value is placed on demarcating work time as opposed to socialization time, for instance. People in polychromic cultures are little concerned with promptness or deadlines.19

The most frequently utilized taxonomy of cultural world views in intercultural communication studies was developed originally by surveying IBM employees in 50 nations (and later supplemented with additional data).20 In this taxonomy, cultures can be arrayed along five dimensions:

- Individualism/Collectivism—Are individuals defined by their unique attributes or by their group memberships? Is individual achievement and gratification most important, or is group harmony?
- Uncertainty Avoidance—Is it preferable to tread well-known traditional paths, or is risk taking and experimentation prized?
- Power-Distance—Should status differences be kept to a minimum, or are strict social hierarchies preferred?
- Masculine/Feminine—Does the culture cultivate competition or cooperation? Acquisitiveness or sharing?
- Short-Term Orientation/Long-Term Orientation (also known as Confucian Dynamism)—Are immediate outcomes and personal dignity most important, or should long-term perspectives and social order be emphasized?

Of these six dimensions, collectivism/individualism receives the greatest attention. Sometimes the gulf between the two orientations seems immense. While individualists are most concerned with doing what must be done to succeed at a task, collectivists may be attuned to avoiding conflict and assuring harmony. While individualists believe in direct and honest talk, collectivists may choose to communicate indirectly, through metaphor or through an intermediary, in order to avoid losing face oneself or causing others to do the same.

Because collectivist thought is literally so foreign to many Westerners, researchers have promulgated a set of recommendations for individualists interacting with collectivists.21

- Recognize that collectivists pay attention to group memberships and predict behavior thereby.
- Recognize that collectivists change their behaviors when they change group membership.
- Don’t force equality of status—vertical hierarchies are ok.
- Avoid overt competition—emphasize harmony and cooperation instead.
- Avoid threatening another person’s “face”—help them save face when necessary.

19 Hall, E. T. (1983). The dance of life: The other dimension of time. New York: Random House. 20 Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill. 21 Triandis, H. C., Brislin, R., & Hui, C. H. (1988). Cross-cultural training across the individualism-collectivism divide. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 12, 269–289. • Recognize that collectivists do not separate criticism of an idea or action from criticism of the person. • Avoid overt confrontation—use a strategy of indirection—or just let go of the conflict. • Cultivate long-term relationships. • Behave more formally than usual in initial interactions. • Follow the collectivists’ lead in self disclosure.

Culture Shock and Adaptation

Culture shock is a common stress reaction that individuals have when they find themselves immersed in an unfamiliar culture. One’s sense of identity as a mature and efficacious adult can be severely challenged when one can’t even figure out how to pay bus fare in a foreign transit system. For relatively short-term sojourners in a new culture—for example exchange students, aid workers, or corporate executives on temporary assignment—the pattern of adjusting to a new culture often follows a predictable pattern from elation to depression to adjustment. Moreover, when the sojourn comes to an end, returnees often experience re-entry shock when they return home. Overall, sojourners may expect to traverse through seven stages:

1. Honeymoon—Newcomers are elated about all the exotic sights and experiences and by the friendliness with which they are greeted.
2. Hostility—As the welcome wears thin and more quotidian tasks are expected of the sojourner, disorientation and frustration set in. Those lacking in communication skills may either abort their visit or else retreat into isolation.
3. Humor—Sojourners are able to see their various challenges and faux pas in perspective.
4. In-Sync—Having achieved a sense of comfort and competence in their host culture, sojourners may even serve as mentors for other newcomers.
5. Ambivalence—As the end of their sojourn approaches, individuals are torn between the joy of an anticipated homecoming and the disappointment of seeing their overseas adventure coming to an end.
6. Re-entry Culture Shock—The sojourner is shocked by the lack of interest and support among those who remained behind in the home culture. Often, the stress of re-entry may exceed the original stress of encountering the host culture.
7. Resocialization—As individuals adjust to being back in their home cultures, three patterns are common. Assimilators try to fit back into old patterns and forget that they had ever experienced another culture. Alienators are never quite satisfied with what they find at home. They may feel restless until they can accept another overseas assignment. Transformers are change agents who use their recently acquired intercultural knowledge to help vitalize their home relationships and organizations.

22 Storti, C. (2001). The art of crossing cultures, 2nd ed. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. 23 Oberg, K. (1960). Culture shock and the problems of adjustment to new cultural environments. Practical Anthropology, 7, 170–179. 24 Martin, J. N., & Harrell, T. (2004). Intercultural re-entry of students and professionals: Theory and practice. In D. Landis, J. M. Bennett, & M. J. Bennett (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training, 3rd ed. 309–336. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 25 Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures, 248–250. New York: Guilford Press. For immigrants, refugees, or émigrés, the long-term counterpart of culture shock is acculturation or adaptation. For them, there is to be no re-entry to their home cultures. Communication plays a key role in the adjustment of these individuals to their new home culture. Important communication components that will determine the quality of cross-cultural adaptation include (a) a critical mass of same-culture immigrants to provide community support and mass media, (b) the receptivity of the host culture to non-native populations, and (c) opportunities for immigrants and refugees to participate in interpersonal interaction with host nationals. If these communication factors are absent or out of balance, there is a danger that immigrants or refugees may either lose their native cultural identities and assimilate, or that they may isolate themselves from their host culture and fail to participate fully. The goal of communication for adaptation is the establishment of integrated bi-cultural (or multi-cultural) identity.

26 Kim, Y. Y. (2001). Becoming intercultural: An integrative theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

27 Maloof, V., Rubin, D. L., & Miller, A. N. (2006). Cultural competence and identity in cross-cultural adaptation: The role of a Vietnamese heritage language school. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9:2, 255–273. This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about intercultural communication. Each section in the resource guide corresponds with a section in the Intercultural Communication Participant Guide and contains two sections: additional textual resources, and useful web and media resources. The additional textual resources section provides references that offer a more in-depth understanding of the concepts. The useful web and media resources section contains the URLs to websites that might be useful in teaching or researching the topic, as well as films and videos that can be used in training workshops.

Defining Intercultural Communication

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Gudykunst, W. B., & Kim, Y. Y. (1997). *Communicating with strangers: An approach to intercultural communication*, 3rd ed., New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Martin, J. K., & Nakayama, T. K. (2007). *Intercultural communication in contexts*, 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Moon, D. G. (1996). Concepts of “culture”: Implications for intercultural communication discourse. *Communication Quarterly, 44*, 70–84.
- Paige, R. M. (1995). Intercultural trainer competencies. In D. Landis and R.S. Bhagat, (Eds.), *Handbook of intercultural training*, 2nd ed., 148–164. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES

- http://interculturalpress.com/store/pc/mainIndex.asp —The Intercultural Press is an important source for books about specific cultures as well as about processes of culture shock, adaptation, and business negotiations.
- http://www.intercultural.org/ —The Intercultural Communication Institute offers a cutting edge Summer Institute for Intercultural Studies. It also hosts the Intercultural Development Inventory, and instrument for measuring development in intercultural sensitivity.
- http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/diversity-videos.html —Kwintessential posts a series of short streaming video productions from YouTube and elsewhere that discuss the need for intercultural understanding, as well as videos that explicate concepts like high and low context and collectivism. It also contains capsule descriptions and essays regarding a number of national cultures. • http://www.work.com/cross-cultural-communication-973/ —This website compiles a number of online resources relating mainly to intercultural and cross-national communication in the workplace. It includes a list of training organizations.

Communication and Group Identity

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

• Collier, M. J., & Thomas, M. (1988). Cultural identity: An interpretive perspective. In Y.Y. Kim and W.B. Gudykunst (Eds.), *Theories in intercultural communication* (International and Intercultural Annual Vol 12), 99–120. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Hecht, M. L. (1993). "2002—A research odyssey: Toward the development of a communication theory of identity." *Communication Monographs* 48:201–216.

• Hogg, M. A. (2006). “Social identity theory.” In P. J. Burke (Ed.), *Contemporary Social Psychological Theories* (pp. 111–136). Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

• Jackson, R.L. (2002). Cultural contracts theory: Toward an understanding of identity negotiation. *Communication Quarterly*, 50, 359–367.

• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. The social identity theory of intergroup behavior.” In S. Worchel and W. G. Austin (Eds.), *Psychology of Intergroup Relations*, 7–24. Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1986.

USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES

• "American Desi," 2000, Black Rock Productions and American Desi Films —An American-born young adult rejects his South Asian identity, only to recover it through friendship and romance. A comic film filled with music and dance.

• "House of Sand and Fog," Dreamworks, 2003 —Iranian political refugee in the U.S. displays strong cultural identification, results in intercultural conflict.

• http://www.theory.org.uk/ —A partly light-hearted exploration of the role of mass media in personal and group identity formation.

• "The Grace Lee Project," 2005, LeeLee Films —Director Grace Lee explores Asian American identity—and those who expand its parameters—by interviewing scores of U.S. women named Grace Lee.

Intercultural Communication Competence and Ethnocentrism

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

• Axtell, R. E. *Gestures: The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the World*. New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1997.

• Davis, K. A. and Henze, R. C. (1998) Applying ethnographic perspectives to issues in cross-cultural pragmatics. *Journal of Pragmatics*, 30: 399–419. • Lewis, R. D. (2005). *When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures*, London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

• Morrison, T. et al. *Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries*. Holbrook, ME: Adams Media Corporation, 1995.

• Roth, N. L., Hunt, T., Stavropoulous, M., & Babik, K. (1996). Can’t we all just get along? Cultural variables in codes of ethics. *Public Relations Review*, 22, 151–161.

• Rubin, D.L., & Lannutti, P. (2001). Frameworks for assessing contact as a tool for reducing prejudice. In V.H. Milhouse, M.K. Asante, and P.O. Nwosu (Eds.), *Transcultural realities: Interdisciplinary perspectives on cross-cultural relations* (pp. 313–326). Beverly Hills: Sage.

• Ting-Toomey, S., & Oetzel, J.C. (2001). *Managing intercultural conflict effectively*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

**USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES**

• http://www.beyondintractability.org/ —Resources for understanding and resolving conflict, especially intergroup conflict.

• http://www.sietar.org —The Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research is a major organization devoted to improving intercultural skills in organizations and other clients.

• http://www.southerncenter.uga.edu/projectcores/public/resourcecore.htm —The Southern Center for Communication, Health and Poverty provides a screened “top 10” list of interactive web-based resources for cultural competence in health communication.

• “The Essential Blue-Eyed,” (1999), California Newsreel —A film by B. Verhaag that demonstrates the famous “Blue-Eyed” training exercise, in which it is seen how quickly group prejudices can be acquired and how virulently they can be practiced.

**Communication Across Diverse World Views and Values**

**ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES**

• Condon, J. C. (1997). *Good Neighbors: Communicating with the Mexicans*. Yarmouth ME: Intercultural Press.

• Hall, E. T. & M. R. Hall. (1990). *Understanding Cultural Differences: Germans, French, and Americans*. Yarmouth ME: Intercultural Press Inc.

• Hofstede, G. *Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations*. 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 2001.

• Miller, A. N. (2005). Keeping up with cartography: A call to study African communication. In W. J. Starosta & G.-M. Chen (Eds.) *International and Intercultural Communication Annual*, 28 (pp. 214–236). Washington DC: National Communication Association.

• Miller, L. (1994). Japanese and American indirectness. *Journal of Asian Pacific Communication*, 5, 1–19.

• Richmond, Y. (1995). *From Da to Yes: Understanding Eastern Europeans*. Yarmouth ME: Intercultural Press. USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES

- http://ethnomed.org/ethnomed/ — the Ethnomed site is intended primarily for health care providers. It offers capsule descriptions of source culture values and practices for about a dozen immigrant groups in the U.S.
- http://feweb.uvt.nl/center/hofstede/index.htm — This homepage for Geert Hofstede describes dimensions of cultural orientation and updates research and training on that topic.
- http://www.culturegrams.com/ — Started nearly 30 years ago at Brigham Young University, CultureGrams offer up-to-date information about a huge number of nationalities and cultures, with a focus on norms for communication.

Culture Shock and Adaptation

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Ali, A. Van der Zee, K., & Sanders, G. (2003). Determinants of intercultural adjustment among expatriate spouses. *International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27*, 563–580.
- Berry, J. W. (1990). Psychology of acculturation: Understanding individuals moving between cultures. In R. Brislin (Ed.), *Applied cross-cultural communication* (p. 232–253). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Paige, R. M., et al. *Maximizing Study Abroad: A Student’s Guide to Strategies for Language and Culture Learning and Use*. Minneapolis, MI: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), University of Minnesota, 2002.
- Smith, C. D. (Ed.). *Strangers at Home: Essays on the Effects of Living Overseas and Coming “Home” to a Strange Land*. Bayside, NY: Aletheia Publications, 1996.
- U.S. Peace Corps. *Peace Corps Odyssey: The Voyage Home*. Washington, DC: Peace Corps Returned Volunteer Services, Office of Domestic Programs, 1997.
- Ward, C., S. Bochner, & A. Furnham. (2001). *The psychology of culture shock*, 2nd. ed. Philadelphia: Routledge, Taylor & Francis.

USEFUL WEB AND MEDIA RESOURCES

- “Culture, Difference, & Power,” (2001). New York: Teachers College Press — A CD-Rom by Christine Sleeter that examines alienation of immigrant youth in US secondary schools.
- http://www.carla.umn.edu/index.html — The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition at the University of Minnesota offers materials to prepare and guide students who are studying abroad for heightened immersion and intercultural sensitivity.
- “Iron and Silk,” (1991), SUN-Productions — This film depicts an American who takes a teaching job in China and learns to adapt to Chinese norms.
- “Monkey Dance,” 2004, Center for Independent Documentary — Cambodian refugees in Lowell, Massachusetts are plagued by their memories of Khmer Rouge oppression. Their children are challenged by the U.S. environment, but find a way back to Cambodian identity. Cabanero-Verzosa, C., and Garcia, H., 2009, 'Using Strategic Communication to Build Commitment to Reform', Chapter 1 in Building Commitment to Reform through Strategic Communication: The Five Key Decisions, World Bank, Washington DC. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3706

Strategic communication is a stakeholder- or client-centred approach to promoting changes in people's attitudes, knowledge and behaviour to achieve development objectives. This chapter from the World Bank book, Building Commitment to Reform through Strategic Communication outlines a five-step process for designing a communication strategy: (1) identify whose support is critical; (2) identify which behaviours, by which groups of people, will contribute to reform success; (3) use messages that start from the audience's perspective; (4) choose communication channels based on reach, frequency and credibility; (5) consider how changes will be tracked and evaluated.

Delli Carpini, M., 2004, 'Mediating Democratic Engagement: The Impact of Communications on Citizens' Involvement in Political and Civic Life', in Handbook of Political Communication Research, ed. L. L. Kaid, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New York, pp. 395–434. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=104329609

Wantchekon, L., 2009, 'Can Informed Public Deliberation Overcome Clientelism?', New York University, New York http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3762

This study from New York University draws on evidence from the 2006 presidential elections in Benin. It shows that if a campaign strategy is based on town hall meetings and policy proposals informed by empirical research, the electorate feels they have greater understanding of policies and candidates. It also suggests that this approach could have positive effects on turnout and electoral support for the candidates involved.

UNICEF, 2005, 'Strategic Communication for Attitude and Behaviour Change in South Asia', UNICEF, Kathmandu http://www.unicef.org/cbsc/files/Strategic_Communication_for_Behaviour_and_Social_Change.pdf

This working paper presents a synthesis of the latest experiences in applying various communication approaches ranging from mass communication and entertainment education, interpersonal communication, participatory development communication, advocacy and social mobilisation that have been used in the health sector in South Asia and elsewhere. It concludes that communication programmes need to be responsive to peoples' wants, needs and desires. Careful communication research, analysis, planning, coordination, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation are necessary for stimulating social change.

Fung, A., 2003, 'Recipes for Public Spheres: Eight Institutional Design Choices and Their Consequences', The Journal of Political Philosophy, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 338–367. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=2619

How can we improve the quality of civic engagement and public deliberation? This survey article from the JFK School of Government at Harvard University analyses several dimensions of efforts to improve the public sphere. It focuses on the realm of 'minipublics' (deliberately convened publics), bringing practice into contact with considerations of democratic institutional design through a review of five contemporary applications. Martinsson, J., 2009, ‘The Role of Media Literacy in the Governance Reform Agenda’, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington, DC. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3739

This discussion paper argues that media literacy helps citizens to become informed, to engage in the public sphere to effect change, and to demand good governance and accountability. In an increasingly complex media landscape, citizens need to be able to access, analyse, evaluate and develop media content. Donors should therefore promote media literacy as an integral part of the development process.

Daruwala, M. and Nayak, V. (eds), 2007, ‘Our Rights, Our Information: Empowering People to Demand Rights through Knowledge’, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3078

This Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative report provides case studies to show that information empowers people to demand adherence to the whole range of their human rights. By establishing the right to information in domestic law and by setting up public information systems, governments can enhance citizens’ participation in governance, advance equitable economic development, reduce poverty and fight corruption.

Reinikka, R and Svensson, J, 2004, ‘The Power of Information: Evidence from a Newspaper Campaign to Reduce Capture’, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3239, World Bank, Washington DC. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=936

This working paper demonstrates the success of a Ugandan newspaper campaign that has enabled schools and parents to monitor a large-scale grant programme. The study uses regression analysis to estimate the effects of increased public access to information and finds a strong relationship between proximity to a news outlet and lower capture. It suggests that empowering users of public services through access to information can be an effective strategy to combat local corruption and the capture of funds.

World Bank, 2007, ‘Generating Genuine Demand with Social Accountability Mechanisms,’ Communication for Governance and Accountability Program. World Bank, Washington, DC. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3761

What factors contribute to the success or failure of Social Accountability (SA) initiatives? This paper reports on a 2007 workshop organised by the World Bank’s Communication for Governance and Accountability Program. It examines what works in: (1) analysing the public sphere and political context; (2) gaining official support for the use of SA tools; (3) informing citizens; (4) mobilising citizen activism; and (5) achieving behaviour change in public officials through public opinion.

IDS and BBC World Service Trust, 2009, ‘The Role of Media in Fragile Situations: A Research Dialogue Across Disciplines’, Report from a research symposium held at Stanmer House, Brighton, UK, 16 January 2009. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3712

This report presents the findings of a research symposium jointly organised by IDS and the BBC World Service Trust. The symposium brought together academics and practitioners across disciplines to discuss the role of the media in fragile and conflict affected states and to identify critical research gaps. It concluded that media and communications research could provide important policy insights into state fragility, state effectiveness and state-citizen relationships.

Norris, P. and Odugbemi, S., 2010, ‘Assessing the Extent to Which the News Media Act as Watchdogs, Agenda Setters and Gatekeepers’, Chapter 15 in ed. Norris, P., 2010, ‘Public Sentinel: News Media and Governance Reform’, CommGAP, World Bank, Washington DC. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3748 This review finds that news media are important in furthering democratic governance, provided they are set up in a way that allows them to act as effective watchdogs, agenda setters and gatekeepers. Barriers to the fulfilment of these roles include restrictions on press freedom, market failures, and lack of professional standards, weak civil society, and limitations in media literacy and public access to the media. Further research is required to fully determine the relationship between a free media and democratic governance.

Norris, P., 2008, 'The Role of the Free Press in Promoting Democratization, Good Governance and Human Development', in Section 2 of ed. Harvey, M., 'Media Matters: Perspectives on Advancing Governance and Development', Global Forum for Media Development, Internews Europe. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3719

This chapter examines the results of a large-N cross-sectional comparison analysing the impact of press freedom on multiple indicators of democracy and good governance. The study seeks to test the hypothesis that where the media functions effectively as a watch-dog, a civic forum and an agenda-setter it helps to promote democracy, good governance and thus human development. Findings support claims that a free press is important, both intrinsically and instrumentally, as a major component of democracy and good governance.

CommGAP, 2009, 'Media Effects' Technical Brief, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington DC. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/MediaEffectsweb.pdf

Haider, H., 2010, 'Communication Initiatives to Change Attitudes and Behaviour', Helpdesk Research Report, Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, University of Birmingham. http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/HD752.pdf

This report presents literature on communication interventions in developing countries designed to change attitudes and behaviours, particularly around gender relations. It looks at entertainment education, group education and various participatory approaches. Studies and evaluations of various communication initiatives addressing gender issues have found positive outcomes. Key lessons include: conducting formative research when conceptualising communication strategies; adopting mixed methods of communication; building on tradition and popular culture; and reaching out to community leaders.

Byrne, E., Arnold, A. K. and Nagano, F., 2010, Building Public Support for Anti-Corruption Efforts: Why Anti-Corruption Agencies Need to Communicate and How, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington DC http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/CorruptionWhitePaperpub31110screen.pdf

This 'how-to' guide aims to help anti-corruption agencies understand how to control the way they present themselves to the public, how to frame their agencies' work, and how to develop allies in the press and the community at large.

ONLINE

Strategic Communication Decision Support Tool

A hands-on, interactive learning tool designed to help reform managers and operational teams in developing and implementing a communication strategy aimed at creating multi-stakeholder support for reform and change initiatives. World Bank, 2008. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/WB_Final_resources2.swf Users will examine real reform experience through various case examples and learn how to apply the strategic communication concepts using the Five Communication Management Decisions. A decision template presented as a performance support tool helps provide a systematic approach in making the five key communication decisions—understanding and segmenting key stakeholder audiences, identifying stakeholder behavior critical to successful reform implementation, framing messages that influence desired behavior change, selecting effective channels of communication and defining evaluation indicators to measure the results of the communication strategy.

VIDEOS

David Cohen, The Advocacy Institute, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007, Running time: 6:24 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwI9GNoRdhs&feature=youtu.be

Henry Mambo, Public Service Reform Programs, Tanzania, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007. Running time: 0:47 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klj775ZoKFg

J.P. Singh, Georgetown University, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007. Running time: 4:15 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu4LKdpE5Xc

Larry Cooley, Management Systems International, World Bank Institute-CommGAP workshop on ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques’, 2009, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 1:27 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwI9GNoRdhs&feature=youtu.be SESSION 5

SS-VD1

Dr. Henry Mambo Communication Director Public Service Reform Program, Tanzania

SS-VD2

JP Singh Georgetown University World Bank Strategic Communication Decision Support Tool Managing Reform Politics

The sessions in this module examines the role of political economy in the success of governance reform efforts. Change creates resistance because it disrupts the status quo, breaks incentive structures, and threatens the vested interests of influential elites. Navigating a change process through a complex political landscape requires strategies that are pivotal to building multi-stakeholder constituencies of public support and creating broad leadership support for change. The case study on the “Philippines Procurement Reform – Passing the Law” provides many operational insights on how coalition building supported by strategic communication can move reform to a successful outcome despite obstacles on many fronts. Framing and Agenda-setting

This is an introduction to the concepts of framing and agenda-setting as communication techniques. The challenges inherent in change initiatives are difficult and complex. And these techniques help in defining the underlying issues and making them the central focus of a successful reform effort. When they are employed consistently and systematically, message frames shape stakeholder perceptions of the issues, provide a unifying frame of reference for all stakeholders, and help to drive an effective public communication campaign. Frames create a compelling narrative of deliberately targeted messages that can be used to influence public opinion about critical issues of governance. By exploring the uses of these techniques, participants will recognize the relationships among the policy, public and media agendas and how communication influences good governance outcomes.

Key Concepts and Messages

- Managing complex governance issues requires the effective use of communication-influence techniques.
- Message framing can drive public perceptions and opinion on governance issues and reform objectives.
- Framing and message crafting can address governance challenges involving political, organizational or public will issues.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

- Define the concepts of framing and agenda-setting,
- Explain how public, policy and media agendas influence each other,
- Apply framing and agenda-setting principles in communication and governance work. **Exercise:** Small Group Work: “Message Framing to Improve Service Delivery”

**Session Length:** 90 minutes

______________________________________________________________________

**Teaching Notes and Process Guide**

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|--------------------------------------|

______________________________________________________________________

*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* MESSAGE FRAMING TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY

Case study: Metro Sarangaya Water Reform Project

SMALL GROUP WORK

TIME ALLOTTED: 45 MINUTES

Note: Participants are required to have read the Sarangaya case study prior to this session. This handout can be found in Session 9 (page XXX) of this book.

PURPOSE

To apply the essential elements of message framing.

PROCESS

1. Distribute the handouts from the Sarangaya case study:
   - Sarangaya Political Economy Analysis (S6-HO1)
   - Sarangaya Stakeholder Analysis Map (S6-HO2)
2. Ask participants to break into small groups of four to five people.
3. Post the Framing Exercise slide (Slide 22) on the screen and outline process as follows:
   - Choose a primary stakeholder or audience
   - Discuss and determine the specific elements of the message frame of each, which includes:
     - The type of frame (e.g. identity frame, loss or gain frame, etc.)
     - Name for the frame (i.e. slogan or label)
     - A short, one-sentence Description of Frame
     - Key ideas or messages of the frame
   - List your message frame elements on the flip chart
4. Ask each group to present their exercise output in plenary.
5. Invite participants to share their insights from lessons learned in the process.
6. Summarize participant insights and observations. Political Economy Analysis Findings

The World Bank country team conducted a political economy analysis of the water sector in Sarangaya to gain a deeper understanding of the issues critical to the reform. It focused on the What, the Why and the How to help unravel the nature of pathologies that exist, the underlying reasons and “rules of the game” that determine economic and political interests of various key players which ultimately influence the process of public decision-making.

In summary, the political economy analysis revealed the following:

1. Despite high availability of water, Sarangaya residents suffer from unequal access and intermittent water supply. MSWA can only distribute water for 4-5 hours per day. This level of performance places them well below the water utilities that serve major cities in the region.
2. As much as 40 percent of water produced is lost, mostly due to old and leaking pipes.
3. More affluent consumers can afford to have continuous water supply, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through overhead tanks and boreholes installed at their own expense.
4. Poor households, in contrast, can only rely on private vendors and pay more for purchased water. The so-called ‘water sharks’ charge four to five times more than piped water.
5. A large number of illegal connections exist. ‘Speed money’ or bribes given to operations and maintenance personnel can expedite the installation of household connections. Only one in three connections has working meters and fraudulent billing is common practice.

Why do these pathologies persist despite significant investments to improve water supply and services provision? The political economy analysis uncovered fraudulent practices in the water sector, the prevailing ‘rules of the game’ and the underlying incentives of various stakeholders who benefit from corruption in the system.

1. Politicians and policymakers with vested interests influence investment priorities and policies affecting the water sector. This results a disconnect between urgent priority needs and actual projects implemented and distortions in the allocation of resources in the water sector.

2. In the planning and budgeting process, corrupt politicians and senior government officials manipulate decisions made in the selection of water and sanitation projects. Capital-intensive projects which offer potential for higher kickbacks are favored over those which require smaller investments. Budgetary outlays are oftentimes diverted to large-scale water projects.

3. In terms of water sourcing, there is a preference for surface water rather than groundwater sourcing in order to justify the construction of costly water treatment plants and procurement of treatment chemicals. Any project that involves construction is a lucrative source of kickbacks—in the design specifications, contract and licensing procedures, bidding and procurement of equipment, vehicles and services.

4. Fund approvals and fiscal transfers are secured through systematic collusion between senior-level officials within the line ministries of finance, budgeting and planning and head of the water authority down to the department directors and operating staff in the implementing agency.

5. The appointment of key personnel (e.g. municipal engineer) is made in exchange for a significant share of proceeds earned from corrupt deals and illegal transactions.

The above-description provides valuable insights on ‘why’ such pathologies persist. Tackling the ‘how’ requires the conduct of a stakeholder analysis which identifies the winners and losers, the interest groups that are likely to oppose strongly and block the reform initiative as well as the supporters and strong advocates.

A stakeholder mapping on page 17 defines the underlying interests and motivations that influence the behavior of various key players in the Metro Sarangaya Water Sector Reform.

# Stakeholder Analysis – Metro Sarangaya Water Reform Case Study

| Stakeholder | Interests | Perceptions | Positions on reform | Influence | |-------------|-----------|-------------|---------------------|-----------| | Politicians, leaders of ruling party | Broad public support for reform, positive political image | Public opposition could hurt the President’s popularity, weaken political image | Conditional support: Hold the reform if significant political and reputational risks exist | High | | Minister of Water Resources Dev., and MSWA Chairman | Political image as a reformer: Use reform program as a ‘showcase’ | Concerned about the short-term negative impact of increased tariffs | Champion of reform, strong support: “A reform program has to be done now. Time is of great importance. Drinking water is a priority area. We cannot afford to wait.” | High | | CEO, Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MWSA) | Credibility, reputation as chief executive: Financial sustainability and operational efficiency of MWSA | Employee resistance and hostile negotiations with Labor Union: Demands of water association do not fully represent the views of residents | Support, reform advocate: “The government response to NGO opposition demonstrate the power of public opinion. But, there is no doubt in my mind that reform is the only solution to the water crisis in Sarangaya. It has to happen sooner than later” | Medium | | Middle Managers, MWSA | Participation and input in the change process: Clarity from senior management on scope and impact of reform on the organization | Senior management has a ‘close-door’ policy on changes that will affect them and all employees | Mixed - Apathetic, with some tepid supporters: “No excuse for no consultation. We need to understand the reasons and implications of the reform on the organization as part of the reform. Our support and plan of action can make or break this.” | Medium |

(Continued) | Stakeholder | Interests | Perceptions | Positions on reform | Influence | |-------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Labor Union, MWSA | Job security, protection of benefits and rights | Distrusts senior management due to lack of engagement, transparency and urgent attention to union agreement | Oppose “We demand protection of our jobs, our benefits and rights as workers. We resent the lack of transparency and consultation in the process.” | Medium | | | Scope, timing and pace of reform changes | | | | | Citizens Action Forum (NGO) | Increase visibility Heighten public recognition through publicity and intense media coverage | Privatization is the World Bank’s hidden agenda Stir negative sentiment against the World Bank on questionable bidding | Strongly oppose “The people oppose privatization. The World Bank cannot dictate its terms. . . . “The Bank’s intervention in the bidding process raises suspicion and is fundamentally flawed.” | Medium | | Sarangaya Resident Water Association| Reliable water supply and universal access with no increase in tariffs ‘Water sharks’ vested interest in status quo | Water is a human right Believes that privatization is disguised as reform | Mixed, diverse interests “In the name of privatization, they can’t snatch our collective resources. There is sufficient water. What needs to be fixed is the problem of leakage.” | Medium to Low | | Donor Group | Improved access and water sector Impact of better public services delivery | Reputational and operational risks need to be considered | Strong support “We stand behind the government’s vision to provide universal access to safe and reliable water supply. Accountability and transparency are key to an efficient, equitable and sustainable system.” | Medium | Defining Media Effects

Most people accept the idea that the media can influence people. But the degree of that influence, as well as who is most-impacted, when, how and why, have been the subjects of great debate among communication scholars for nearly a century. Media effects refers to the many ways individuals and society may be influenced by both news and entertainment mass media, including film, television, radio, newspapers, books, magazines, websites, video games, and music.

Searching for Evidence of the Media’s Impact

Media effects have been studied by scholars in communication, psychology, sociology, political science, anthropology, and education, among other fields. Many early communication models designed to explain the process of message dissemination were simple, one-way, and linear (Shannon & Weaver, 1949), positioning the medium or message as the cause and the behavioral, emotional, or psychological response as the effect (Bryant & Thompson, 2002, pp. 4–5). Modern conceptualizations, however, typically illustrate a two-way process that is more transactional or interactive in nature, in which the message or the medium affects the recipient(s), but the audience, in turn, influences and shapes the sender(s).

In the early part of the 20th century, concerns about political propaganda, manipulation by the elite and the rising popularity of electronic media led to the so-called “hypodermic needle” or “bullet” theories, which envisaged media messages as strong drugs or potent weapons that would have powerful effects on a helpless audience (Lasswell, 1927; Lippmann, 1922). However, while these theories explained some behavior, they did not account for the different responses individuals may have to the same media source. In the 1950’s and 60’s, empirical research began to uncover the moderating power of predispositions and peer groups, concluding that the media’s impact was small—often referred to as “limited effects” theory (Klapper, 1960; Lazarsfeld, Berelson, & Gaudet, 1944). In the 1970’s and 80’s, prominent scholars began to look more closely again at the media’s relationship to knowledge, opinion, attitudes, and levels of violence, concluding that media effects could be significant in some cases, even if not “all powerful.” Scholars also came to agree that some vulnerable groups, such as children, may be more heavily influenced by media than others (Bryant & Thompson, 2002; McCombs & Shaw, 1972; McLuhan, 1964). One great difficulty for researchers is how to measure media effects. Media consumption may affect a person's thoughts, emotions, or behaviors in ways that could be direct or indirect, immediate or delayed, fleeting or lasting. It is impossible for scientists to control for all of the mediating factors, from levels of media consumption to demographics such as age, race, and socioeconomic status to harder-to-measure variables like environment, upbringing, values and previous experience. A researcher would not be able to prove, for example, that playing a violent video game caused a person to commit a violent crime, even if an association existed between the two behaviors. Did playing the game lead to the violent behavior, or did a propensity toward violence encourage use of the game? Why didn't all individuals who played the game commit acts of violence? Traditional methods of research such as surveys, experiments, and panel studies cannot adequately solve this cause-and-effect dilemma.

Passive versus Active Media Consumption

To understand media effects, it is first critical to consider how media are used and for what purposes. Communication scholars have traditionally fallen into two camps—functionalists, who believe the media audience tends to be in control and active, and critical/culturalists who believe the audience has less control and is therefore more passive. The balance may lie somewhere in the middle and may vary from country to country.

Rather than concerning itself with what the media does to people, Uses and Gratifications Theory looks at what people do with media (its functions), positing that individuals actively choose the media they use and do so with specific goals in mind (Blumler & Katz, 1974). These goals or gratifications may be different for different people and can include entertainment, information, relief of boredom or escapism, introspection or insight, finding models for behavior, seeking reinforcement for beliefs or values, serving as a basis for conversation and social interaction, helping to either identify with others or to avoid interactions with them, and so on (McQuail, 2005). Functionalists emphasize the audience's cognitions and choices.

Critical/cultural scholars believe Uses and Gratifications Theory fails to account for socio-cultural factors. First, they take issue with the assumption that open and active media choices are available to all individuals. Secondly, they believe the functionalist approach may minimize the impact of the dominant cultural or transnational power(s) in presenting “choices” that serve to reinforce existing elites. An additional concern is that if we accept the idea that people are neither coerced nor manipulated and have full control over their media consumption choices, policy makers may tend to be less attentive to and critical of media content and power (Morley, 2006).

Media Effects and Our View of the World

While discussion of media effects often centers on dramatic issues such as violence or propaganda, scholars have identified a number of more subtle potential effects:

- **Priming**—Media messages may stimulate recall of stored ideas, knowledge, opinions, or experience associated in some way with the message content. For example, a news story about the French presidential election might trigger thoughts about the French economy, memories of a trip to Paris during college, or remind a person to put brie on their grocery list (Fiske & Taylor, 1991).

- **Agenda-Setting**—The media may not affect what people think, but may affect what they think about, through the choice of which topics to cover and what to emphasize. Control of the flow of information is often referred to as “gatekeeping,” and is based not only on media professionals’ perceptions of what is important, but also on time and space limitations (Cohen, 1963; Lippmann, 1922). • **Framing**—Frames are the particular treatment or “spin” an individual or organization gives to a message (Gitlin, 1980). While agenda-setting is choosing which stories to tell, framing is choosing how to tell them. Frames may “promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation” (Entman, 1993, p. 54).

• **Cultivation**—Over time, heavy viewers of television may come to believe that the real world is similar to the television world - heavy exposure to the media cultivates this belief (Gerbner, Gross, Signorielli, & Morgan, 1980). For example, based on the proportion among television characters, a heavy user of television might estimate that more than one in ten males hold jobs in law enforcement, when in reality only 1 in 100 do (Dominick, 2005, p. 471). Researchers have been particularly concerned with cultivation’s impact on racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes as well as attitudes about violence.

Related to *cultivation*, there are several other important terms in the media effects vocabulary:

• **Mainstreaming**—Heavy television viewers may lose the attitudes, beliefs or customs of their cultures in favor of those they see repetitively on television (Bryant & Thompson, 2002).

• **Disinhibitory effect**—Media’s ability to desensitize people to socially unacceptable behavior, making it either acceptable or desirable. The disinhibitory effect may enable people to rationalize or justify actions that conflict with their internal code of conduct or morality (Bryant & Thompson, 2002). Early research on this effect exposed preschoolers to a film in which adults took out their aggression on an inflatable punching bag clown (“Bobo”); children who saw the film later imitated it and also engaged in other violent behavior not seen on the film (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963).

• **Mean World Syndrome**—Media consumers may become so overwhelmed by negative portrayals of crime and violence that they may begin—either cynically or despondently—to believe the real world is a mean and harsh place (Gerbner, Gross, Jackson-Beeck, Jeffries-Fox, & Signorielli, 1978; Wilkinson & Fletcher, 1995).

### How the Media Change Attitudes and Opinions

Persuasion is one of the effects usually sought on purpose by the media and lies at the heart of advertising and public information campaigns. Several models have been developed to explain the process (Petty & Cacioppo, 1996):

• **Cognitive Response Theory** argues that in order to experience attitude change a person receiving a persuasive message must think about the message, and their thoughts about it are more important than the message itself.

• **The Elaboration Likelihood Model** further explains that this thinking or cognitive processing can either happen centrally and consciously, or peripherally and subconsciously. Central processing of a message takes far more effort for the recipient and has been shown to have longer-lasting effects, while peripheral processing requires little effort and may have more fleeting results. Being persuaded about a political issue covered in the news would likely require more central processing than viewing a soft drink ad that persuades viewers by showing happy people drinking the product. Factors that increase the likelihood of central processing include personal relevance, likeability, credibility of attractiveness of the source, the number of arguments used and the number of people who seem to agree with them. Even the simple use of the word “you” rather than the third person can have a significant impact on the persuasiveness of a message by making it seem more relevant (Burnkrant & Unnava, 1989). • Persuading people to adopt a new idea or technology typically follows a predictable pattern. According to the **Diffusion of Innovation Theory**, people fall into one of five groups: innovators (2.5%), early adopters (13.5%), early majority (34%), late majority (34%), and the laggards (16%). Often the media first spreads the word about a new idea, but ever-widening interpersonal networks persuade individuals to make the change. Over time, family, friends, social leaders, peers and the community at large adopt the innovation. If it is something the individual feels confident in doing—referred to as self-efficacy—that does not conflict with that individual’s deeply held values, they join one of the adoption groups. Finally, adoption of the innovation reaches a critical mass (Rogers, 2003 [1962]).

**Negative Outcomes Often Attributed to Media Exposure**

Concerns about exposure to violence and sexual content often dominate discussion of media effects, but a key challenge for researchers is determining what constitutes violence and sexual content. For example: Must violence include physical contact or could it be verbal? Is a news report about violence the same as seeing the incident in a film? Is cartoon violence the same as other violence? In some studies, as many as 80% of U.S. network programs contained violent content and as many as 60% of the characters were involved. Measuring the effects of media violence can also be difficult: researchers have identified catharsis, arousal, disinhibition, imitation, and desensitization as possible outcomes (Bryant & Thompson, 2002), but proving a causal relationship is still an elusive goal.

While cultural standards of inappropriate sexual content differ greatly, researchers have shown that repeated exposure to explicit sex may decrease an individual’s fulfillment with real life partners or family situations (Zillmann & Bryant, 1988a, 1988b), shift a person’s attitudes about morality, decrease inhibitions, leading to risky or violent sexual behavior (Court, 1984), and generally cause individuals to demonstrate greater aggression (Zillmann, 1978). The most important predictor is the **prevailing tone**, such as whether the scene is treated seriously or trivially, has artistic value or intent, and how necessary the sex scene is to the plot and the context of viewing (Harris, 1994).

Media may also have the negative impact of promoting cultural, racial or gender biases, either through stereotyping roles and behaviors or the under- or over-representation of minority characters. However, some research has also shown that by familiarizing individuals with groups other than themselves, the media may also provide positive learning opportunities that help overcome stereotypes and prejudices (Bryant & Thompson, 2002).

**Learning from Media**

While the media are often criticized for their harmful effects, media can also be a positive avenue for learning and persuasion. Historically, the influence of publications such as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s *Uncle Tom’s Cabin* and Charles Darwin’s *The Origin of Species* has changed the way people view the world. Numerous studies from around the world have shown the positive effects programming such as “Sesame Street” can have on children’s cognitive and social skills. And every day, public health and safety campaigns save lives. Some of the factors shown to be associated with effective mass media campaigns include (Bryant & Thompson, 2002):

- Reasonable goals for the campaign
- Understanding the audience's habits, attitudes, and other characteristics
- Selecting the correct media for the audience and the issue (for example, using broadcast media for a target audience with low literacy rates)
- Using a mix of media when possible
- Emphasizing the benefits of the behavior change
- Modeling the desired behavior
- Increasing the audience's self-efficacy through education
- Continual research, evaluation, and modification before and during the campaign, if necessary

Digital Media Effects

Studies on the effect of new media technologies are only just beginning to emerge, but here are some of the most important findings and/or developments (Bryant & Thompson, 2002):

- Media consumers are no longer simply an “audience,” but are now “users”—heralding a new era of active consumption
- Communication and media impact are now multi-directional; two-way sender-receiver models are too linear and orderly to represent these interactions
- While some scholars have found high levels of Internet usage correlate with higher levels of loneliness, anxiety and depression, there may also be social benefits for shy or shut-in individuals who go online
- Media fragmentation (the development of many highly-specialized media outlets) makes targeting audiences easier, but may also make mass communication more challenging
- The increased number of media choices may expose children to adult material before they are prepared for it

Selected References

Bandura, A., Ross, S. A., & Ross, D. (1963). Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 66:1. Blumler, J. G., & Katz, E. (1974). The Uses of Mass Communications: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). Fundamentals of Media Effects, 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Burnkrant, R. E., & Unnava, H. R. (1989). Self-referencing - A strategy for increasing processing of message content. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15:4, 628–638. Cohen, B. C. (1963). The Press and Foreign Policy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Court, J. H. (1984). Sex and violence: A ripple effect. In N. M. Malamuth & E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Pornography and sexual aggression, 143–172. Orlando, FL: Academic Press. Dominick, J. R. (2005). *The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in the Digital Age*, 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. *Journal of Communication, 43*:4, 51–59.

Fiske, S.T., & Taylor, S. E. (1991). *Social cognition*, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Jackson-Beeck, M., Jeffries-Fox, S., & Signorielli, N. (1978). Cultural indicators: Violence profile, no. 9. *Journal of Communication, 28*, 176–207.

Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Signorielli, N., & Morgan, M. (1980). Aging with television: Images on television drama and conceptions of social reality. *Journal of Communication, 30*, 37–47.

Gitlin, T. (Cartographer). (1980). *The Whole World is Watching: Mass Media in the Making & Unmaking of the New Left*. New York: Pantheon Books.

Harris, R. J. (1994). The impact of sexually explicit media. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), *Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research*, 505. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Klapper, J. T. (1960). *The Effects of Mass Communication*. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

Lasswell, H. D. (1927). *Propaganda technique in World War I*. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Lazarsfeld, P. F., Berelson, B., & Gaudet, H. (1944). *The People's Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign*. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce.

Lippmann, W. (1922). *Public Opinion*. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D.L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 36*:2, 176–187.

McLuhan, M. (1964). *Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man*, 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

McQuail, D. (2005). *McQuail's Mass Communication Theory*, 5th ed. London: Sage.

Morley, D. (2006). Unanswered questions in audience research. *The Communication Review, 9*:2, 101–121.

Petty, R., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1996). *Attitudes and Persuasion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches*. Boulder: Westview Press.

Rogers, E. M. (2003 [1962]). *Diffusion of innovations*, 5th ed. New York: Free Press.

Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). *The Mathematical Theory of Communication*. Urbana: University of Illinois.

Wilkinson, J. S., & Fletcher, J. E. (1995). Bloody news and vulnerable populations: An ethical question. *Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 10*:3, 167.

Zillmann, D. (1978). Attribution and misattribution of excitatory reactions. In J.H. Harvey, W.J. Ickes & R. Kidd (Eds.), *New directions in attribution research*, Vol. 2, 335–368. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Zillmann, D., & Bryant, J. (1988a). Effects of prolonged consumption of pornography on family values. *Journal of Family Issues, 9*:4, 518–544.

Zillmann, D., & Bryant, J. (1988b). Pornography impact on sexual satisfaction. *Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18*:5, 438–453. This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about research on media effects. Each section in the resource guide corresponds with a section in the Media Effects Participant Guide and contains three sections: additional textual resources, useful web resources, and useful media resources, if applicable. The additional textual resources section provides references that offer a more in-depth understanding of the concept. The useful web resources section contains the URLs to websites that might be useful in teaching or researching the topic. The last section provides some resources on media effects in general. Links to websites are current as of June 2007.

Defining Media Effects

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

The books mentioned below are introductory media effects and mass communication texts. Any similar text will include information on media effects.

- Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). *Fundamentals of Media Effects* (First ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
- Bryant, J. & Zillmann, D. (Eds.), (1994). *Media Effect: Advances in Theory and Research*. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Dominick, J. R. (2005). *The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in the Digital Age* (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Klapper, J. T. (1960). *The Effects of Mass Communication*. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
- McQuail, D. (2005). *McQuail's Mass Communication Theory* (5th ed.). London: Sage.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_influence —Like all Wikipedia entries, which are not vetted by any official expert source, this should be approached with caution, but it contains a comprehensive overview and many helpful links to further information.

- http://www.cmpa.com/ —The Center for Media and Public Affairs, a think tank organization with links to research on media effects.

- http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/csh.html/ —The Communication, Cultural and Media Studies Infobase (ccms). This website provides an excellent overview of dozens of media effects and communication topics. Rated by Microsoft’s Encarta as the “best web site” on communication and rated “Superior” by Encyclopedia Britannica Internet Guide.

- http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/index.cfm —Primarily concerned with media literacy, this resource for parents and teachers has excellent summary information on current issues in the study of media effects.

### Searching for Evidence of the Media’s Impact

#### ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). *Fundamentals of Media Effects* (First ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
- Klapper, J.T. (1960). *The Effects of Mass Communication*. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
- Lasswell, H.D. (1927). *Propaganda technique in World War I* Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
- Lippmann, W. (1922). *Public Opinion*. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
- McCombs, M.E., & Shaw, D.L. (1972). The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. *Public Opinion Quarterly*, 36(2), 176–187.
- McLuhan, M. (1964). *Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man* (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Shannon, C.E., & Weaver, W. (1949). *The Mathematical Theory of Communication*. Urbana: University of Illinois.

#### USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://www.psychologymatters.org/bandura.html —This American Psychological Association (APA) web page includes information on social learning theory
- http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Health%20Communication/Social_cognitive_theory.doc/ —Explanation of Social Cognitive Theory

### Passive Versus Active Media Consumption

#### ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Blumler, J.G., & Katz, E. (1974). *The Uses of Mass Communications: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research*. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
- McQuail, D. (2005). *McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory* (5th ed.). London: Sage.
- Morley, D. (2006). Unanswered Questions in Audience research. *The Communication Review*, 9(2), 101–121.

#### USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/Audience.html —Information about audiences and media effects USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- Film: 1984, the Truman Show, Wag the Dog

Media Effects and Our View of the World

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Blumler, J.G., & Katz, E. (1974). The Uses of Mass Communications: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
- Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). Fundamentals of Media Effects (First ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
- Cohen, B.C. (1963). The Press and Foreign Policy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Dominick, J.R. (2005). The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in the Digital Age (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Entman, R.M. (1993). “Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm”. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51–59.
- Fiske, S.T., & Taylor, S.E. (1991). Social cognition (2nd. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Jackson-Beeck, M., Jeffries-Fox, S., & Signorielli, N. (1978). Cultural Indicators: Violence Profile No. 9. Journal of Communication, 28, 176–207.
- Gerbner, G., Gross, L, Signorielli, N., & Morgan, M. (1980). Aging With Television: Images on Television Drama and Conceptions of Social Reality. Journal of Communication, 30, 37–47.
- Gitlin, T. (Cartographer). (1980). The Whole World is Watching: Mass Media in the Making & Unmaking of the New Left.
- Lippmann, W. (1922). Public Opinion. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
- Wilkinson, J.S., & Fletcher, J.E. (1995). Bloody News and Vulnerable Populations: An Ethical Question. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 10(3), 167.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://www.cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/notebooks/social-construction-of-reality.html — A historical look at the social construction of reality
- http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/audienceresec/audienceresec.htm — Background information on Cultivation Analysis, the research led by George Gerbner

How the Media Change Attitudes and Opinions

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Burnkrant, R.E., & Unnava, H.R. (1989). Self-Referencing - a Strategy for Increasing Processing of Message Content. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15(4), 628–638.

- Petty, R., & Cacioppo, J.T. (1996). Attitudes and Persuasion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches. Boulder: Westview Press.

- Rogers, E.M. (2003 [1962]). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press. USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://courses.umass.edu/psych586/readings/sears.1994.pdf — Media effects on political persuasion

USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- Film: Deadly Persuasion, The Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco

Negative Outcomes Often Attributed to Media Exposure

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). Fundamentals of Media Effects (First ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
- Court, J.H. (1984). Sex and Violence: A Ripple Effect. In N.M. Malamuth & E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Pornography and sexual aggression (pp. 143–172). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
- Harris, R.J. (1994). The Impact of Sexually Explicit Media. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (pp. 505). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Zillmann, D. (1978). Attribution and Misattribution of Excitatory Reactions. In J.H. Harvey, W.J. Ickes & R. Kidd (Eds.), New directions in attribution research (Vol. 2, pp. 335–368). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Zillmann, D., & Bryant, J. (1988a). Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography on Family Values. Journal of Family Issues, 9(4), 518–544.
- Zillmann, D., & Bryant, J. (1988b). Pornography Impact on Sexual Satisfaction. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18(5), 438–453.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu — Link to the Vanderbilt Television Archive which holds more than 30,000 U.S. evening news programs
- http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~ker/ — A collection of industry perspective, scholarly research, case studies, and public opinion related to media violence

USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- Films: Natural Born Killers, Bowling for Columbine, The Matrix, A Clockwork Orange
- Television programs: All in the Family, Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny, NYPD Blue, MTV
- Video games: Mortal Kombat, Doom, and Killer Instinct Learning from Media

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). *Fundamentals of Media Effects* (First ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://www.aap.org/family/tv1.htm — Background information about the effects of television on children and explanation of V-chip ratings
- http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=15 — Read and watch more than 60 years worth of advertisements for American public health and safety campaigns produced by the Ad Council
- http://www.sesameworkshop.org/ — The online home of Sesame Street and The Children’s Television Workshop

USEFUL MEDIA RESOURCES

- Advertising: See Ad Council link above for online access to dozens of public service announcements
- Television: Sesame Street, Blues Clues, Barney

Digital Media Effects

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). *Fundamentals of Media Effects* (First ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/unraveling.html — The effects of digital media on children Definitions

“A frame is a central organizing idea for making sense of relevant events and suggesting what is at issue.” (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989, p. 3)

“To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described.” (Entman, 1993, p. 52)

“A framing effect is said to occur when, in the course of describing an issue or event, a speaker’s emphasis on a subset of potentially relevant considerations causes individuals to focus on these considerations when constructing their opinions.” (Druckman, 2001, p. 1042)

Frames “organize the world both for journalists who report it and, in some important degree, for us who rely on their reports.” (Gitlin, 1980, p. 7)

“Frames are organizing principles that are socially shared and persistent over time, that work symbolically to structure the social world.” (Reese, 2001, p. 11)

Further Explanation

While the above mentioned definitions provide a good introduction, the concept of framing can be better understood by comparing it to the process of persuasion through belief change. Nelson, Oxley, and Clawson (1997) explain that persuasion through belief change occurs when an individual or group receives new information that changes their beliefs about a certain issue. In contrast, “frames operate by activating information already at the recipients’ disposal, stored in long-term memory.” (original emphasis, p. 225).

Their explanation can be understood using the expectancy value model of attitudes:

[ A = \\sum V_i W_i ] (Anderson, 1981; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980)

or

Attitude = Sum total of beliefs regarding an attitude object (Vi) and the weight given to that belief (Wi)

Persuasion through belief change changes the value of Vi, or the beliefs regarding an attitude object. Framing changes the value of $W_i$, or the weight given to that belief:

“Frames tell people how to weight the often conflicting considerations that enter into everyday political deliberations. Frames may supply no new information about an issue, yet their influence on our opinions may be decisive through their effect on the perceived relevance of alternative considerations.” (Nelson et al., p. 226)

Furthermore, while it is more difficult to persuade more sophisticated individuals, who already possess a lot of information about an issue, than those who are less sophisticated and do not possess as much information, Nelson et al. explain that framing effects will not differ according to the sophistication of the audience. That is, due to the framing effect, even those who possess a lot of information about an issue will change the weight they give to their beliefs about the issue. However, this finding is contradicted by Rhee (1997) who inferred that the knowledge of the audience has a direct effect on their interpretation of a framed message.

According to another viewpoint, framing effects occur due to the increase in accessibility of certain issues (Chong, 1996; Kinder & Sanders, 1996). That is, “as particular frames rise to prominence, some opinion ingredients are highlighted and made more accessible while others are shunted to the side” (Kinder & Sanders, p. 174). This perspective makes framing very similar to priming, so it is also known as the framing-as-priming hypothesis.

Yet, framing also differs from priming as well as agenda setting, and these differences have been explained in the separate documents on priming and agenda setting.

**Examples**

The following are some examples of framing:

1. Iyengar (1990) compared the effects of episodic and thematic framing of news stories about poverty. “In the thematic frame, the news might consist of information bearing on general trends (e.g. the poverty rate, the number of states experiencing significant increases in hunger…), or matters of public policy (the Reagan administration’s proposal to curtail various social welfare programs…).” (p. 22)

   “In the episodic frame, by contrast, poverty is covered in terms of personal experience; the viewer is provided with a particular instance of an individual or family living under economic duress.” (p. 22)

   The study concluded that when a thematic frame is used to report poverty, responsibility is assigned to the society. In contrast, when an episodic frame is used to report poverty, responsibility is assigned to the individual.

2. A study by Roya Akhavan-Majid and Ramaprasad (1998) compared the United States and Chinese press coverage of the fourth United Nations conference on women and the NGO forum. The study revealed a strong influence of ideology on the framing of news stories. The anti-communist ideology prevalent in the United States led to an overwhelming trend in the U.S. newspapers to criticize China rather than focus on the issues that were directly relevant to the conference. In addition, an anti-feminist frame was noticed in the U.S. coverage, because the women attending the conference were often portrayed in derogatory terms. The Chinese coverage used a pro-equality frame due to the communist ideology dominant in the country, and the issues of concern to the conference were emphasized as well. Moreover, praise of China’s preparation efforts for the conference was also present, in a somewhat subtle form, in the Chinese coverage.

3. An analysis of the California Civil Rights Initiative’s public campaign to defeat affirmative action policies revealed that a “an ‘individual rights’ framing” was used to cover systemic racism and emphasize “ideologies of rugged individualism and the mythic American meritocracy.” (Mukherjee, 2000, p. 42)

4. A study by Pratt, Ha and Pratt (2002) revealed that stigmatized diseases such as HIV/AIDS were more often framed with “negative, derogatory descriptions” (p. 899) in African popular media than non-stigmatized diseases such as tuberculosis.

Another study on the framing of HIV/AIDS, on the 5 transnational wire services, revealed that “overall, the global AIDS-HIV story of the 1990s seemed to move slightly beyond the biomedical frame of the late-1980s. Although this frame remains prominent, the coverage also emphasizes the socioeconomic, cultural, policy, human rights, and ethical aspects of the pandemic. The portrayal of AIDS or people living with AIDS-HIV as deviant has decreased considerably as has the moral panic angle. On the downside, the projection of AIDS as a globally interrelated phenomenon and the need for prevention and education glaringly lacks emphasis. The AIDS situation in lesser-developed countries is framed mostly in socioeconomic terms, whereas developed regions are framed mostly in biomedical terms.” (Bardhan, 2001, p. 303)

5. A study by Edy and Meirick (2007) tested the effects of the framing of the September 11, 2001 attacks by the three major television networks on the support for the war in Afghanistan. The study revealed that the framing pattern observed on the television networks did not match their adoption by the audience. For example, ‘pure war’ was the most frequently televised frame, but least prevalent among the audience. However, the frame adoption of the audience influenced their reaction to the Afghanistan war. Those who adopted the ‘vengeance frame’ supported the war the most, followed by those who adopted the ‘pure war frame,’ ‘pure crime frame,’ and ‘war crime frame’ in decreasing order of magnitude.

“A ‘pure crime’ perspective conceptualizes the events of September 11 as an attack on individuals by individuals, a moral judgment that suggests a need to redress private wrongs but that is also likely to find the expansion of punishment beyond those directly responsible morally unacceptable. In contrast, the ‘vengeance frame’ makes the group responsible for attacks on individuals. Because the group is guilty, inflicting harm on group members who may have played no direct role in the attacks is morally acceptable. Indeed, there may be an ‘eye-for-an-eye’ logic behind the relative willingness of those subscribing to this frame to inflict civilian casualties in Afghanistan. A ‘pure war’ frame describes an attack on a group by a group, creating an ‘us-versus-them’ evaluation that justifies military action on the grounds of self-defense. However, the moral valence of such a posture is subtly different from that of pure crime or vengeance in that it invokes the idea of self-defense rather than seeking redress on behalf of others. A ‘war-crime frame’ invokes its own unique moral judgment. Like the war frame, it defines its user as a member of a wronged group; however, it identifies not a general ‘enemy’ but specific ‘criminals’ responsible for the wrong.” (p. 136)

6. Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) conducted a content analysis of the frames used in Dutch national news (2601 newspaper stories and 1522 television news stories) from May 1 to June 20, 1997, which was the period that led up to the meeting of the heads of government of EU countries held in Amsterdam on June 16th and 17th, 1997.

The categories used for coding were as follows:

A. Conflict Frame: “This frame emphasizes conflict between individuals, groups, or institutions as a means of capturing audience interest.” (p. 95)

B. Human Interest Frame: “Such a frame refers to an effort to personalize the news, dramatize or ‘emotionalize’ the news, in order to capture and retain audience interest.” (p. 96)

C. Economic Consequences Frame: “This frame reports an event, problem, or issue in terms of the consequences it will have economically on an individual, group, institution, region, or country.” (p. 96)

D. Morality Frame: “This frame puts the event, problem, or issue in the context of religious tenets or moral prescriptions.” (p. 96)

E. Responsibility Frame: “The frame presents an issue or problem is such a way as to attribute responsibility for its cause or solution to either the government or to an individual or group.” (p. 96) The study revealed that while serious newspapers and television stations used the responsibility and conflict frames most often, the sensationalist newspapers and television stations used the human interest frame most often.

Also, the news was coded for four topics – European integration, crime, drugs, and immigration. Among these the European integration and crime emerged as most important. The study found that “topics about Europe and European integration were more frequently framed in terms of attribution of responsibility and economic consequences than were stories about crime. Stories about crime, on the other hand, were more often framed in terms of human interest. There was no significant difference between stories about Europe and those about crime in terms of the prevalence of a conflict frame.” (p. 104)

Selected References

Bardhan, N. (2001). Transnational AIDS-HIV news narratives: A critical exploration of overarching frames. *Mass Communication & Society, 4*, 283–309.

Druckman, J. (2001). On limits of framing effects. Who can frame? *Journal of Politics, 63*, 1041–1066.

Edy, J. A. & Meirick, P. C. (2007). Wanted, dead or alive: Media frames, frame adoption, and support for the war in Afghanistan. *Journal of Communication, 57*, 11–141.

Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. *Journal of Communication, 43*, 51–58.

Gamson, W. A. & Modigliani, A. (1989). Media discourse and public opinion on nuclear power: A constructionist approach. *American Journal of Sociology, 95*, 1–37.

Gitlin, T. (1980). *The whole world is watching: Mass media in the making and unmaking of the New Left*. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Iyengar, S. (1990). Framing responsibility for political issues: The case of poverty. *Political Behavior, 12*, 19–40.

Kinder, D. R. & Sanders, L. M. (1996). *Divided by color: Racial politics and democratic ideals*. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Mukherjee, R. (2000). Regulating race in the California civil rights initiative: Enemies, allies, and alibis. *Journal of Communication, 27–47*.

Nelson, T. E., Oxley, Z. M., & Clawson, R. A. (1997). Toward a psychology of framing effects. *Political Behavior, 19*, 221–246.

Reese, S. D. (2001). Introduction. In S. D. Reese, O. H. Gandy, & A. E. Grant (Eds.), *Framing public life: Perspectives on media and our understanding of the social world* (pp. 1–31). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Semetko, H. A. & Valkenburg, P. M. (2000). Framing European politics: A content analysis of press and television news. *Journal of Communication, 93–109*. Definitions

“Agenda-setting is an inherently causal theory. Studies generally have found some form of positive association between the amount of mass media content devoted to an issue and the development of a place on the public agenda for that issue.” (Scheufele, 2000, p. 304)

“Whereas the ‘first level’ of agenda setting is focused on the relative salience (usually operationally defined as perceived importance) of issues or subjects, the ‘second level’ examines the relative salience of attributes of issues…” (Weaver, 2007, p. 142)

“While the mass media may have little influence on the direction or intensity of the attitudes, it is hypothesized that the mass media set the agenda for each political campaign, influencing the salience of attitudes toward the political issues.” (original emphasis) (McCombs & Shaw, 1972, p. 177)

“‘Agenda-setting’ refers to the process by which problems become salient as political issues around which policy alternatives can be defined and support or opposition can be crystallized… In this context, agenda status refers to issue salience (relative perceived importance of a problem), not issue position (relative approval of a policy).” (original emphasis) (Erbring, Goldenberg, & Miller, 1980, p. 16–17)

Further Explanation

Most scholars agree that agenda-setting and priming are similar concepts, which are both interested in how issue salience and accessibility are increased by media coverage:

“Agenda-setting and priming rely on the notion of attitude accessibility. Mass media have the power to increase levels of importance assigned to issues by audience members. They increase the salience of issues or the ease with which these considerations can be retrieved from memory if individuals have to make political judgments about political actors. In other words, media influence the standards by which audience members evaluate political figures.” (Scheufele, 2000, p. 309)

Some scholars choose to differentiate between first level and second level agenda setting, as defined above. In that case, first level agenda setting is usually compared and considered to be similar to priming, while second level agenda setting is usually compared and considered to be similar to framing:

“Priming is the impact that agenda-setting can have on the way individuals evaluate public officials by influencing the thematic areas or issues that individuals use to form these evaluations. Framing can be con- considered an extension of agenda-setting as it ‘is the selection of a restricted number of thematically related attributes for inclusion on the media agenda when a particular object is discussed’ (McCombs, 1997, p. 6). In other words, whereas agenda-setting is concerned with the salience of issues, frame-setting, or second-level agenda-setting (McCombs, Llamas, Lopez-Escobar, & Rey, 1997) is concerned with the salience of issue attributes.” (Scheufele, 2000, p. 298)

There are three criteria that need to be met to convincingly argue that there is evidence of an agenda-setting effect:

“First, some form of covariation needs to be identified between the two variables under study. Second, potential alternative explanations need to be ruled out. Third, a temporal order between independent and dependent variable has to be established…” (Scheufele, 2000, p. 304)

The independent variable, in the case of an agenda-setting study, is the amount of media coverage given to an issue, whereas the dependent variable is the importance given to that issue by the public.

The major flaw with many agenda-setting studies is that they do not fulfill the second and third criteria.

**Examples**

The following are some examples of agenda setting:

1. A study by Ader (1995) found support for the hypothesis that “the media agenda and the public agenda for the issue of pollution will be related with a change in the media agenda leading to a change in the public agenda.” (p. 302)

2. A study, by Kwansah-Aidoo (2001), of media coverage of environmental issues in Ghana found a correlation between the environmental issues that the public considered important and the environmental issues given importance by the media, as per the 1997 PACIPE Media Report.

3. Bakir (2006) described how Greenpeace used media coverage to emphasize the risks associated with the “planned deep-sea disposal of Shell-UK’s first decommissioned North Sea structure” (p. 67). Although their claims were partly incorrect, Greenpeace was able to set the policy agenda and influence the OsIrp-Paris (OSPAR) Commission Environment Ministers to vote “for a full ban on marine dumping of steel oil installations and a zero discharge requirement for radioactive waste.” (p. 68)

4. A study by Kiousis and McCombs (2004) “compared data on media content with public opinion data collected during the 1996 presidential election by the University of Michigan’s National Election Studies (NES) pre-election poll. In particular, media content and public opinion about 11 major political figures were analyzed to assess the relationships among news coverage, public salience, and the strength of public attitudes.” (p. 43–44)

   The study concluded that political leaders were more recognizable to the public as the media coverage of those leaders increased. The results also proved that as the media coverage of leaders increased, non-neutral attitudes towards these leaders and extreme attitudes towards these leaders increased as well.

5. A study by Holbrook and Hill (2005) reported that viewing of crime dramas increased the possibilities of the viewer considering crime to be “one of the most important problems facing the nation.” (p. 283)

6. A study by Wanta, Golan, and Lee (2004) reported that “the more media coverage a nation received, the more likely respondents were to think the nation was vitally important to U.S. interests, supporting the agenda-setting hypothesis. The more negative coverage a nation received, the more likely respondents were to think negatively about the nation, supporting the second level of agenda setting. Positive coverage of a nation had no influence on public perceptions.” (p. 364) 7 Studies by Weaver, Graber, McCombs, and Eyal (1981) and McCombs, Lopez-Escobar, and Llamas (2000) found a strong correlation between the pre-election media agenda of candidate attributes and the voters’ agenda of candidate attributes. The former study was about the 1976 U.S. presidential election contested by Jimmy Carter and Jerry Ford. The latter study was about the 1996 Spanish general election.

8 A study by Jones and Baumgartner (2004) found a correspondence between the agenda of the public and the Congress, and the agenda of the public and the lawmakers in the national government. That is, the public plays an important agenda setting role. However, the Congress deals with a greater number of issues than the public does.

Selected References

Ader, C. R. (1995). A longitudinal study of agenda setting for the issue of environmental pollution. *Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 72*, 300–311.

Bakir, V. (2006). Policy agenda setting and risk communication: Greenpeace, shell, and issue of trust. *Press/Politics, 11*, 67–88.

Erbring, L., Goldenberg, E. N., & Miller, A. H. (1980). Front-page news and real-world cues: A new look at agenda-setting by the media. *American Journal of Political Science, 24*, 16–49.

Holbrook, R. A. & Hill, T. G. (2005). Agenda-setting and priming in prime time television: Crime dramas as political cues. *Political Communication, 22*, 277–295.

Kiousis, S. & McCombs, M. (2004). Agenda-setting effects and attitude strength: Political figures during the 1996 presidential election. *Communication Research, 31*, 36–57.

Kwansah-Aidoo, K. (2001). The appeal of qualitative methods to traditional agenda-setting research. *Gazzette, 63* (6), 521–537.

McCombs, M. F., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. *Public Opinion Quarterly, 36*, 176–187.

McCombs, M. F., (1997). New frontiers in agenda setting: Agendas of attributes and frames. *Mass Communication Review, 24*, 32–52.

Scheufele, D. A. (2000). Agenda-setting, priming, and framing revisited: Another look at cognitive effects of political communication. *Mass Communication & Society, 3*, 297–316.

Wanta, W., Golan, G., & Lee, C. (2004). Agenda setting and internacional news: Media influence on public perception. *Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 81*, 364–377.

Weaver, D. H. (2007). Thoughts on agenda setting, framing, and priming. *Journal of Communication, 57*, 142–147. DFID, 2008, ‘Media and Good Governance: A DFID Practice Paper,’ Department for International Development, London http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3711

This practice note, from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), summarises the key global media trends which are leading to changes in country-level governance. It also explains some of the incentives and disincentives driving the sector which can lead the media to play either a positive or negative role in strengthening democratic politics. Donors should better understand how media can enable or prohibit citizen engagement, analyse the political implications of support to the media, and promote an enabling communications environment.

Deane, J., 2008, ‘Why the Media Matters: the Relevance of the Media to Tackling Global Poverty’, in Section 1 of ed. Harvey, M., ‘Media Matters: Perspectives on Advancing Governance and Development,’ Global Forum for Media Development, Internews Europe. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3720

This paper from the Global Forum for Media Development argues that the media has a critical role in poverty reduction, particularly by fostering country ownership of development strategies and the accountability of governments to their citizens. However, the media operates in a politically and economically hostile environment with only fragmented, inconsistent and short-term support from donors. It therefore remains largely peripheral to development action. The media can and must enable people with the most to win or lose from development debates to access, understand and contribute to them.

Norris, P. and Odugbemi, S., 2010, ‘Assessing the Extent to Which the News Media Act as Watchdogs, Agenda Setters and Gatekeepers,’ Chapter 15 in ed. Norris, P., 2010, ‘Public Sentinel: News Media and Governance Reform,’ CommGAP, World Bank, Washington D.C. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3748

This review from the World Bank’s Communication for Governance and Accountability Program finds that news media are important in furthering democratic governance, provided they are set up in a way that allows them to act as effective watchdogs, agenda setters and gatekeepers. Barriers to the fulfilment of these roles include restrictions on press freedom, market failures, and lack of professional standards, weak civil society, and limitations in media literacy and public access to the media. Further research is required to fully determine the relationship between a free media and democratic governance.

Norris, P., 2008, ‘The Role of the Free Press in Promoting Democratization, Good Governance and Human Development’, in Section 2 of ed. Harvey, M., ‘Media Matters: Perspectives on Advancing Governance and Development,’ Global Forum for Media Development, Internews Europe. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3719

This book chapter published by Internews Europe examines the results of a large-N cross-sectional comparison analysing the impact of press freedom on multiple indicators of democracy and good governance. The study seeks to test the hypothesis that where the media functions effectively as a watch-dog, a civic forum and an agenda-setter it helps to promote democracy, good governance and thus human development. Findings support claims that the free press is important, both intrinsically and instrumentally, as a major component of democracy and good governance. CommGAP, 2009, ‘Media Effects’ Technical Brief, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington DC. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/MediaEffectsweb.pdf

VIDEOS

Zubaru Kaloko, National Power Authority, Sierra Leone, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007. Running time: 1:27 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu8bbnkdBoo&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL9C9840FF51D3ECE9

Media Effects, Graphical Animation, CommGAP, Produced by the World Bank Institute, 2010. Running time: 2:56 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvgURfZMGoQ&feature=related&list=UL SESSION 6

S6-VDI

Dr. Zubaru Kaloko General Manager National Power Authority, Sierra Leone This session offers insights on the ‘how’ of managing the politics of change through supporting multi-stakeholder coalitions for reform. Experience shows that reform efforts are often derailed by powerfully-vested interests and organized local elites. How to deal with intractable parties has been a persistent challenge in implementing difficult reform initiatives.

Participants will learn how the Philippines was successful in passing a procurement reform law with a coalition-building strategy deployed by the reform coalition. The coalition did so as a ‘well-oiled machine’ that focused on empowering coalitions to overcome hostile and indifferent public opinion and advance broad multi-stakeholder support for change. The case study in this session demonstrates how strategic communication can play a central role in galvanizing civil groups and the media to demand legislative approval, in this case, of a procurement reform bill.

Key Concepts and Messages

• A coalition building strategy is critical in navigating the complex political landscape in a governance reform environment. It can guide the reform team in mitigating risks and creating opportunities to move from the status quo or poor equilibrium to an envisioned state or good equilibrium.

• A well-designed communication strategy is at the core of an effective coalition-building approach. It can act as the glue for bringing together critical allies and stakeholders to diminish risks from collective-action problems where beneficiaries/supporters are often diffused and unorganized.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Recognize the advantages of using a coalition building strategy, • Deploy coalition building techniques to address challenges in reform implementation, • Design a communication strategy to build a coalition of supporters for governance reform. **Coalition Building**

**Session Length:** 90 minutes

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**Teaching Notes and Process Guide**

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|--------------------------------------|

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## How to Build Broad Coalitions of Pro-Change Influentials

### What to Do about Powerful Vested Interests

| Approaches | |------------------------------------------------| | **Focus on influentials** | | Influentials, similar to opinion leaders, command a level of respect and authority in their field of expertise and are able to sway the opinions of others. Because reform is about changing the status quo, overcoming resistance to and promoting support for change is better facilitated with the support of influentials for that particular change effort. The techniques that are used to implement this approach include research, stakeholder mapping, framing and branding initiatives and raising issue awareness among key stakeholders. | | **Focus on networks and connectors** | | This network-based approach seeks to identify a connector, also known as a broker or resource-linker, who “sits at the center of relationships and basically manages constituencies whose engagement is necessary for effective reform.” The connector is an individual who crosses organizational boundaries across networks. This connector role can be played by various individuals at different stages of the reform effort. Using this approach to build coalitions assumes that networks and coalitions already exist and that there are connectors within these networks who may wield influence, bring people together and can effect change. It recognizes the power of the networks and often invisible connectors within them. The techniques that can be used to implement this approach include the following: (1) performing research, (2) conducting network analysis, (3) consulting directly with the affected parties, (4) creating an enabling environment through empowering structures and transparency within coalitions, and (5) training technicians in government to operate within networks rather than in isolation. | | **Use broad-based coalitions to get on the policy agenda** | | Coalitions are powerful when the issues they advocate reach the top of the policy-making agenda through the consensus of affected stakeholders. Successful coalition building arrives from a broad-based consensus generated by pro-change agents. The techniques that can be used to implement this approach are (1) performing research, (2) framing, branding, and advocacy of issues, (3) raising awareness of stakeholders about key issues, (4) using inclusion and decentralization for ownership and sustainability, (5) creating and sustaining momentum for change through a sense of urgency, (6) building the capacity of all stakeholders to communicate, and (7) using the appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) for the local context. | Engage and partner with civil society in creative ways.

Increasingly, civil society is seen to represent legitimate and credible voice in public debate and policy making. This approach takes into account that broader and deeper engagements and partnerships with civil society are necessary to build effective coalitions for reform. Recognizing the need to talk about issues in new and creative ways is particularly important for a broader engagement with civil society to build coalitions. In working with organizations, the focus should not only be on the process of engagement with civil society, but also on the projected outcomes of those partnerships.

In identifying like-minded individuals for coalition building, it is best not only to pick the easiest and most obvious individuals or groups to mobilize, but attempt to be creative in the search, keeping in mind that coalitions are not necessarily issue-specific. It is also useful to include national and international NGOs in the search. Although the legitimacy of international coalitions is sometimes questioned, these should not be discounted simply because these entities are not indigenous. Vocal international coalitions can play an important role in mobilizing groups around an issue. Several techniques for pursuing this approach include performing research; framing, branding, and advocacy of issues; creating a new stakeholder group, if needed; building an enabling environment through empowering structures and transparency within coalitions; creating and maintaining momentum for change through a sense of urgency; building capacity of all stakeholders to communicate; and using ICT appropriate to the local context.

Techniques

Understand the local context by engaging in extensive research

Conducting research to understand the local context is the first and most important step in any attempt at change. It is critical to enter the reform process without the prejudice of an established set of prescriptions, and to strive to understand what brings stakeholders together or pulls them apart in a particular setting. In addressing the challenge of building coalitions and tackling vested interests, stakeholder research identifies the key players and decision makers, assesses their positions and determines the political feasibility of interventions. It provides the basis on which to develop a strategy for a thorough and effective engagement with all stakeholders. In terms of designing a strategy for tackling vested interests, it is important to speak with the opposition groups to get their perspective. Ultimately the success of any effort at building a powerful coalition for mobilizing change rests upon the quality of the research.

Conduct stakeholder mapping.

Stakeholder mapping is a process of determining the type, degree, tools, and context of influences among stakeholders. It is a research-based technique to find the sources of influence, called influentials in a given society. Following a four-step sequence to (1) identify, (2) locate and profile, (3) engage, and (4) map stakeholders according to their interests, level of influence and position regarding the reform. The findings of the research contribute to the development of a dynamic visual map that illustrates the flows of influence among stakeholders and leading to the identification of the influentials.

Conduct network analysis.

Network analysis is the main technique for identifying the connector, also known as a broker or resource linker. This analysis uses interviews to determine who connects individuals and groups in an organization or institution. Connectors are often found in the most unlikely places. Mapping the system of networks with the connectors is a useful exercise in starting the process of building coalitions for change. The basis of network analysis is the understanding that networks and coalitions always exist, and they exist in forms that are not always obvious or intuitive. Connectors can also be detrimental if they are in opposition to one’s cause. When one assesses the local environment for coalition Building, therefore, it is important to bear in mind that various types of coalitions exist, and these are formed most frequently because of resource dependency and uncertainty. Hence, they are not necessarily issue specific. Weak ties as well as informal networks and relationships are also relevant to discussions about coalitions. It would be useful to consider the strength of these ties when conducting research.

| Brand the reform initiative, and frame messages to reinforce the branding. | |---| | Once the messengers have been identified through stakeholder mapping and network analysis, the message needs to be framed appropriately to reinforce the branding of a given reform initiative. The development of an advocacy strategy would build awareness and promote support for the societal issue. A concrete agenda with measurable goals is needed to clarify the coalition’s objectives and activities. Additionally, the messenger must have a clear vision of the reform and say it in a way that helps to mobilize affected stakeholders and satisfy their expectations. |

| Consult directly with the affected parties. | |---| | In building coalitions, it is important to cut out intermediaries and consult directly with stakeholders for their input and ideas. |

| Create a new stakeholder group if needed. | |---| | When the search for existing groups with similar objectives or interests does not yield results, another option is to try to create a new stakeholder group. In coalition building, it may be prudent to frame the issue loosely to bring as many people together as possible into the initial discussion. This framing would be distinct from identifying salient issues up front that would narrow the pool of potential coalition members even before the first gathering. |

| Conduct information campaigns and regular consultations to promote transparency and ownership. | |---| | Holding regular consultations with coalition members and creating a platform for consensus building provides a forum where agreement is reached on a common objective, defines the reform program, mobilizes support, builds committed constituencies and establishes partnerships. Building trust among coalition members through an enabling environment with an empowering structure is critical for producing sustainable ownership of reform. Using transparency through regular communication is an important technique. |

| Create a multi-stakeholder policy-making group and an independent implementation body to ensure ownership and sustainability. | |---| | Broad-based ownership of reform can be built through inclusion and decentralization. Country experience shows that the principle of inclusion was applied through the formation of a policy-making steering committee comprising all key stakeholders. In addition, a separate implementation unit, independent of the ministry, was established to ensure that even if the government changed, the reform process would continue. That autonomy gave rise to public confidence and faith that the process would be transparent and absent of government manipulation or intervention. |

| Link the issue to change in legislation to create a sense of urgency and momentum for change. | |---| | The attention span of humans is seldom short. When one is building coalitions for change, it is therefore critical to keep the issue alive by creating a sense of urgency to build on that momentum. Linking an issue to a change in legislation is one way of achieving this goal because there is a definite and specific objective of the coalition members. |

| Train technicians in government to work in networks rather than in isolation. | |---| | Building coalitions within government can be a challenge because many civil servants are technicians who are used to working in isolation rather than in networks. While coalition-building efforts should target technicians, be forewarned that they are difficult to mobilize into coalitions because of their tendency to work in isolation. The best way of overcoming this tendency is to train technicians to communicate and to work in teams and networks. | Use information and communication technology (ICT) appropriate to the local context.

If ICT adoption is high in a country, ICT may be a useful tool in pushing reform. In terms of mobilizing support for reform, ICT is also beneficial for the raising awareness, education, as well as a means for sharing case studies and success stories. An example of a successful application of ICT for coalition building is the development and use of screensavers and video tutorials to stimulate awareness and build support among civil servants for the passage of a new procurement law in the Philippines. Defining Coalitions

There are many ways that individuals and groups can work together toward realizing a shared vision and attaining common goals. They can share information, organize joint activities, and collaborate on setting-up an organization to further programmatic objectives. Experience from around the world has shown that among the available options for collaborative engagement, building coalitions is one of the most effective ways of achieving common objectives. Examples of successful coalition building efforts range from the community level to the international context, and can be found in various sectors of governance and development.

Coalitions have been defined as “self conscious, freely-organized, active and lasting alliances of elites, organizations, and citizens sharing partially overlapping political goals.”1 As such, coalitions are structures of formal collaboration undergirded by a common vision, and facilitate shared decision making power, influence, and material resources among individuals, groups, and organizations. Formed to carry out joint or coordinated activities,2 coalitions can either be a time-bound or open-ended partnering to achieve a common purpose. In either case, sustaining gains arising from collaborative engagement should always be a serious consideration, to guard against the threat of counter-reform by vested interests.

The return to significant investments of time and energy is the higher likelihood of successful and sustainable reform efforts. Coalitions can achieve what one citizen or organization cannot do alone, making those who are perceived to be weak—in government bureaucracies, nonprofits, and the general citizenry—less vulnerable to harassment and intimidation of vested interests. For marginal and less resourced groups, coalitions serve as the “primary mechanism through which disempowered parties can develop their power base and thereby better defend their interests.”3 Thus, coalition members, deriving strength from each other, are emboldened to more vigorously pursue their goals.

Coalitions are able to mitigate challenges by providing a shared platform for likeminded pro-change individuals and groups, leveraging the collective force of their members and influential allies, focusing the public spotlight on advocacy issues in the public arena, and applying pressure among leadership circles, within bureaucratic environments, and in the larger public sphere, toward the effective and sustainable implementation of reform.

1 Sahr Kpundeh, Strategy for Coalitions 2 Cohen, de la Vega, & Watson, 2001 3 “Coalition Building” (Boulder, Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, 1998, accessed on January 30, 2009); available through http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/problem/coalition.htm; Internet. How Are Coalitions Formed?

Coalitions are products of deliberate, concerted, and painstaking efforts among those who understand that collective action is more powerful than disparate efforts carried out by lone champions and loosely affiliated groups. Structured and formal collaboration allow these societal actors to combine scarce resources and, by acting in concert, increase the power of their voices in the public sphere to effect positive change. This paper cites some of the lessons learned from experiences in building strong and lasting coalitions that increase the likelihood of successful reform.

In the areas of governance and development, coalitions have served many purposes and have been formed in various ways. However, experiences from around the world suggest that there are some essential steps to coalition building that can be carried out in different sequences. The following coalition building stages do not comprise a comprehensive nor prescriptive list. That said, to increase the likelihood of success of change initiatives, it is imperative that reform leaders take stock of the ways in which coalitions have previously been successfully built and made sustainable. Drawing on a wide range of sources from the fields of leadership, communication, negotiation, and development, we find that coalitions are formed and strengthened through the following stages:

- **Issue Identification and Specification**: the overall objective of the problem is articulated and broken down for detailed analysis; policy options are defined in terms of a continuum of options (from minimum to maximum reform positions) that particular stakeholders may either support or find unpalatable
- **Relationship/Stakeholder Mapping**: significant actors are identified, positions toward key and related issues are plotted, especially in terms of the policy options identified in the previous step
- **Forming Core Membership**: the core of a coalition is convinced about and becomes self-aware of the benefits of change; core actors are organized, early leaders and champions are identified, and the joint agenda takes shape
- **Demonstrating Credibility**: coalition demonstrates it is knowledgeable about relevant issues, can act effectively, and is worthy of support from stakeholders
- **Purposeful Expansion**: a critical stage when a small organization builds a broader social and resource base while retaining coherence and effectiveness
- **Sustainable Transformation**: during which the coalition has grown and becomes polycentric, with initiatives on many fronts, drawing strength from many sources

The above-stated processes through which coalitions are formed and made sustainable have requisite research, networking, lobbying, and mass outreach activities. Communication between and among current and potential coalition members plays an important role in these activities, and should be key considerations in coalition building efforts. It is to the communicative dimensions of coalition building to which we now turn.

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4 http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/coalition_building/ The Communication Dimensions of Coalition Building

Coalition building requires tackling a complex array of challenges, one of which is getting the communication dimension right. Effective communication efforts range from facilitating networks among likeminded political elites; fostering deliberation, dialogue, and debate among multiple stakeholders, especially public sector middle managers; measuring and informing public opinion; and building support among various interest publics as well as the general citizenry.

Effective communication efforts in support of coalition building help secure, strengthen, and sustain political will at various bureaucratic levels. Both decision-making elites and public sector middle managers require support of likeminded individuals and organizations that will provide political cover when unpopular decisions need to be made in the public interest. The leveraging of shared resources allows coalitions to more effectively inform and cultivate support among publics. Inclusive and participatory approaches made possible by coalitions create a consensus for reform which increases the likelihood of success and sustainability of change efforts.

While there may be no one way to build strong coalitions, experiences from around the world suggest that effective communication is an essential component that needs to be deployed judiciously in different combinations and sequences, depending on the needs and stages of formation of particular coalitions. Each of the coalition building stages listed above implies communication activities, as listed here under each stage:

- **Issue Identification and Specification**: communication efforts should focus on gauging public opinion and consulting with policy experts to determine the national mood, public discourse, and policy options surrounding the reform initiative (*use public opinion research methods and key informant interviews*)
- **Relationship/Stakeholder Mapping**: communication efforts should focus on listening to actors and key informants, including using and analyzing public opinion data to determine positions of general public as well as subgroups (*use public opinion research methods, key informant interviews, and network analysis*)
- **Forming Core Membership**: communication efforts should focus on lobbying and persuasion of influential individuals and key targets, as well as deepening understanding of their positions and trade-offs (*use lobbying and persuasion techniques*)
- **Demonstrating Credibility**: communication/messages should focus on successes to date (even small ones), but framed as much as possible in terms of the interests and incentives of core membership and key stakeholders; coalition should also demonstrate mastery of the issues surrounding the reform (*use issue framing and media relations techniques*)
- **Purposeful Expansion**: the target of communication efforts should shift toward addressing the interests of broader relevant issue and policy networks (*use framing for collective action and networking approaches*)

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5 Jeremy Rosner (2008). Communicating difficult reforms: Eight lessons from Slovakia. In S. Odughemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), *Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice* (pp. 395–396). Washington, D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. • **Sustainable Transformation**: communication efforts should broaden and include appeals to the general public, especially in terms of addressing social norms (*use framing for collective action and media relations techniques*)

While the contributions of communication to coalition building in support of reform are multi-faceted, successful efforts from around the world suggest that these initiatives can be boiled down into two categories: communication efforts that either **build trust**, especially during early formative stages, and **leverage diversity**, to make the most of a coalition’s broad membership. Finding a balance between trust and diversity which exert pressure in opposite directions, much like centripetal and centrifugal forces, strengthens a coalition’s orbital rotation around a particular issue and enhances its influence in the public sphere.

Coalition members must enjoy a level of trust that will enable the ceding of a significant amount of autonomy, i.e., in sharing resources and decision making power). At the same time, each member’s access to relevant policy networks and interest publics should be leveraged toward increasing the scope and influence of the coalition. It is toward building trust and managing diversity that effective communication is critical. The chart in Annex A renders the relationships among coalition building stages, their communication dimensions and a phased approach to building trust and leveraging diversity. What Motivates People to Join Coalitions?

Convincing stakeholders to join a coalition requires crafting messages that resonate with the motivations of potential and current members. A recommended communication approach in this regard is called “framing for collective action,” which essentially means finding a way to sell the coalition by tapping into the motivations of stakeholders. Two dimensions of human motivations (shared purpose and sought after rewards) are discussed below.

From the study of political psychology, we have learned that particular types of shared purpose play important roles in individuals’ decisions to participate in social movements. An attempt is made here to apply these shared purposes to our understanding of coalition building. Appeals for stakeholders to join can be crafted based on the following:

- **Identity**—highlighting identification with preexisting ingroups, such as those based on ethnicity, gender, profession, etc.
- **Ideology**—responding to an individual’s search for meaning (e.g., to serve the marginalized or enhance individual liberty) and serve as a platform for expression of one’s voice (e.g., coalition as a forum for deliberation and debate)
- **Instrumentality**—providing opportunities to influence the social and political environment in the direction of a potential coalition member’s pragmatic goals

Shared purpose is often reflected in the stated objectives of the coalition, and is the most obvious reason for joining. It thus makes sense to communicate based on one or a combination of the shared purposes listed above. Effective communication, however, requires more than simply proclaiming whether a coalition’s purpose is based on identity, ideology or instrumentality. Sahr Kpundeh argues that in addition to shared purpose, there are sought after rewards that drive the desire to join and maintain membership in coalitions. These include:

- **Material incentives**: rewards of tangible value, such as money, goods, or jobs—communicate in terms of material benefits to the ingroup, such as shared decision making power over the allocation of pooled resources and a fair share of the gains from joint efforts
- **Specific solidary incentives**: “. . . intangible rewards arising out of the act of associating can be given to, or withheld from, individuals—communicate a sense of belonging and prestige derived from membership
- **Collective solidary incentives**: “. . . intangible rewards created by the act of associating that must be enjoyed by the whole group, and restricted to group members—communicate a sense of fellowship and community derived from membership

Crossing categories of shared purposes with sought after rewards results in a more nuanced understanding of human motivations. This enhanced understanding can guide reform leaders in crafting messages

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6 Bert Klandermans. 2003. Collective political action. In D. O. Sears, L. Huddy, & R. Jervis (Eds.), *Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology*, pp. 670–709. that might appeal to various stakeholders, once efforts have been made to understand the motivations of particular stakeholders.

| Sought After Rewards | Identity | Ideology | Instrumentality | |----------------------|----------|----------|-----------------| | **Material (tangible)** | Resources for ingroup | Resources for the cause, in general | Resources for specific projects and programs | | **Specific solidary (intangible)** | Sense of prestige and belonging | Affirmation of personal beliefs and convictions | Political efficacy(^7) (i.e., the individual's belief that she or he can make a difference) | | **Collective solidary (intangible)** | Sense of community | Affirmation of shared purpose | Collective efficacy (i.e., the group's belief that it can make a difference) |

Coalitions have the capacity to appeal to overlapping motivations of multiple constituencies. The broader the shared agenda among members and the larger the number of segments of society a coalition seeks to mobilize, the more potential motivations will be available for message crafting. However, sensitivity to cross-purposes among members needs to be managed by effective communication and decision making rules. While coalitions, by definition, serve a common vision, they must also cater to multiple motivations given their broad memberships.

A caveat. It should be noted that long term sustainability is not always an overarching goal of coalition building since it could make sense for coalition members to disband once their joint purpose has been fulfilled. However, there are long term policy and advocacy issues that require attention over time, especially in terms of applying pressure on decision makers and bureaucratic implementers to follow through on commitments. This suggests that sustainability should always be seriously considered to guard against the threat of counter-reform by vested interests.

**What Are Some Examples of Successful Coalitions?**

Some examples of successful coalition building efforts in support of reform are considered here, including anti-corruption efforts in the Philippines, improving water services in Kenya, privatizing public enterprises in India, and judicial sector reform in Georgia.

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(^7) Membership in coalitions can also give individuals a sense of political efficacy “or the sense that one's participation can actually make a difference (internal efficacy) and that the political system would be responsive to this participation (external efficacy) . . .” Michael X. Delli Carpini (2004). Mediating Democratic Engagement: The Impact of Communications on Citizens’ Involvement in Political and Civic Life. In L. L. Kaid (Ed.), *Handbook of Political Communication Research* (pp. 395–434). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. EXAMPLE 1: TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY COALITION IN THE PHILIPPINES

In the Philippines, the Transparent Accountable Governance (TAG) initiative is a good example of successful pro-reform coalition building. In the late 1990’s, The Asia Foundation was able to build a coalition for curbing corruption and fostering an improved environment for economic growth. Initially partnering with academic institutions to carry out research activities to examine the problem of corruption in the Philippines, the coalition was joined over time by other groups such as the League of Cities of the Philippines, credible NGOs and private sector partners. These additional coalition members increased the influence and ensured sustainable support for the program. In addition, creation of the TAG Web site (http://www.tag.org.ph) proved instrumental in empowering citizens and motivating them to participate by making their contribution visible in a publicly accessible space.

Unlike traditional, one-way communication, which keeps repeating the same simple message through the same channel, coalition building is about building trust. This requires engaging people with credible messages, backed up by research and evidence and delivered by credible messengers. Vested interests are at a disadvantage in this new landscape. TAG has had significant achievements, such as textbook monitoring with the Department of Education, development of a feedback mechanism for procurement monitoring with the Office of the Ombudsman, and development of deployment software for civil society observers of the Bids and Awards Committee.

EXAMPLE 2: WATER SECTOR REFORM COALITION IN KENYA

In Kenya, building broad coalitions around decentralized institutions led to successful implementation of water sector reforms. High-level policy makers and other stakeholders brought on board broad political and social support ensuring a transparent and accountable process. Because of a clear focus on the major issues in the country’s water sector, the political momentum created with the incoming government (in 2003), and the renewed interest in water by the government’s development partners, a coalition quickly coalesced around reforms. Guided by the interministerial Water Sector Reform Steering Committee (WSRSC), the Water Sector Reform Secretariat (WSRS) implemented the reforms.

In the late 1990s, chronic water shortages had cultivated among the citizenry a sense of urgency for sector reforms. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation’s role was, therefore, to build a coalition not only among people and groups who were disgruntled with the administration of water services to date but also among others who needed to be associated with such reforms, especially the new government that had campaigned on a platform of good governance and improved public service delivery. Under the new government, political awareness about water sector reform led to responsiveness to stakeholder demand for action and transparency in the reform process. The success of reform was due to broad-based consensus, stakeholder mobilization, the formation of a policy-making steering committee composed of key stakeholders, and the establishment of an independent implementation unit free of government manipulation or intervention.

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8 Robert de Quelen (2008). Building Pro-Change Multisectoral Coalitions to Overcome the Resistance of Powerful Vested Interests. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 233–247). Washington, D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank.

9 George O. Khroda (2008). A Consensus-Based, Stakeholder-Driven, and Decentralized Approach to Building Broad Coalitions for Water Sector Reforms. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 219–231). Washington, D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. EXAMPLE 3: JUDICIAL REFORM COALITION IN GEORGIA

In Georgia, survey results and focus groups suggested that citizens thought very poorly of the judiciary and showed a strong mistrust toward the institution. Although the leadership of the judiciary was capable and reform oriented, changes in the system were not going to happen overnight, and when they would take place, they would be known only to those using the courts. Explaining those changes to the public was a challenge because of the judiciary’s low credibility. Messages in support of judicial reform would be much more successful if they were to be communicated by a neutral third party.

For this purpose, several NGOs active in the field of justice created a new organization—the Association for Legal Public Education (ALPE)—tasked to implement the communication program. Thus, four NGOs and a state body, the Council of Justice, established ALPE. The new organization was given the responsibility of walking a very thin line: while remaining an NGO with a strong, independent voice, it had to engage the judiciary to become more open and transparent while at the same time helping the judiciary to reach out to the public.

EXAMPLE 4: PUBLIC ENTERPRISE REFORM COALITION IN INDIA

Another successful coalition building effort was the controversial public enterprise reform in West Bengal, India. Many powerful and long established stakeholder groups opposed change, each with its own reason to preserve the current balance of power. In support of reform, government used a coalition to neutralize opponents. Those tasks required sophisticated deployment of communication techniques. In a low-key and transparent manner, government launched a broad, consultative dialogue among public enterprise managers, unions, and government: identifying problems together, drawing conclusions about the similar problems faced by the majority of firms in the public enterprise sector, and by exploring available options. This approach gave labor leadership a sense of shared ownership of the problems together with management and government.

The communication strategy followed logically from the political nature of the problem that communication was required to address. Once the decision was made for government first to work with core stakeholders and later to involve mass media, there was no large audience involved at the beginning, and the core stakeholders could meet more or less in one room. The most intimate, flexible, and credible medium, then, was face-to-face meetings; the second-most was written correspondence. These letters and minutes not only kept all core stakeholders aware of how the policy debate progressed, but also put stakeholder positions on the record and discouraged participants from backsliding or shying away from earlier concessions. Personal meetings and transparent statements on paper were effective means of building transparency, credibility, and trust.

10 Jose-Manuel Bassat (2008). Building Support for the Rule of Law in Georgia. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 397–411). Washington, D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank.

11 Steve Masty (2008). Communication, Coalition Building, and Development: Public Enterprise Reform in West Bengal and Orissa States, India. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice (pp. 355–389). Washington, D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank.

## ANNEX A

| Key Challenges: A Phased Approach | Coalition Building Stages | Description of Each Stage | Communication Dimension/s and Recommended Techniques | |----------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|------------------------------------------------------| | **Building Trust** | Issue | Overall objective of the political problem is articulated and broken down; policy options are defined in terms of a continuum of options | Gauging public opinion and consulting with policy experts to determine the national mood, public discourse, and policy options surrounding the reform initiative (use public opinion research methods and key informant interviews) | | | Framing and Specification | | | | | Relationship/ Stakeholder Mapping | Significant actors are identified, positions toward key and related issues are plotted | Listening to actors and key informants, including using and analyzing public opinion data to determine positions of general public as well as subgroups (use public opinion research methods, network analysis, and key informant interviews) | | | Forming Core Coalition Membership | Core of a coalition is organized, early leaders and champions identified, and agenda takes shape | Listening to, lobbying, and persuasion of influential individuals and key targets, as well as deepening understanding of their positions and trade-offs (use lobbying and persuasion techniques) | | **Leveraging Diversity** | Demonstrating Credibility | Coalition demonstrates it can act effectively and is worthy of support from stakeholders | Messages should focus on successes to date, even small ones, framed in terms of the interests and incentives of core membership and key stakeholders (use issue framing and media relations techniques) | | | Purposeful Expansion | Critical stage when a small organization builds a broader social and resource base while retaining coherence and effectiveness | Target of communication efforts should shift toward addressing the interests of broader relevant interest publics and policy networks (use framing for collective action and networking approaches) | | | Sustainable Transformation | Coalition has grown and becomes polycentric, with initiatives on many fronts, drawing strength from many sources | Communication efforts should broaden and include appeals to the general public, especially in terms of addressing social norms (use framing for collective action and media relations techniques) | Definitions

“Social network analysis is focused on uncovering the patterning of people’s interaction. It is about the kind of patterning that Roger Brown described when he wrote:

“Social structure becomes actually visible in an anthill; the movements and contacts one sees are not random but patterned. We should also be able to see structure in the life of an American community if we had a sufficiently remote vantage point, a point from which persons would appear to be small moving dots. . . . We should see that these dots do not randomly approach one another, that some are usually together, some meet often, some never. . . . If one could get far enough away from it human life would become pure pattern.”

Network analysis is based on the intuitive notion that these patterns are important features of the lives of the individuals who display them. Network analysts believe that how an individual lives depends in large part on how that individual is tied into the larger web of social connections. Many believe, moreover, that the success or failure of societies and organizations often depends on the patterning of their internal structure.” (International Network for Social Network Analysis, Available Online: http://www.insna.org/INSNA/na_inf.html, Accessed 07/30/07)

“Social Network Analysis is an approach to studying organizations focusing on analyzing the networks of relationships between people and/or groups as the most important aspect. Going back at least to the 1950s, it is characterized by adopting mathematical techniques especially from graph theory. It has applications in organizational psychology, sociology, and anthropology.” (original emphasis) (Dekker, 2005, p. 2)

“Network theory . . . attempts to explicate how social and cultural phenomenon emerge out of interaction . . . This may be done by measuring the properties of local interactions as well as different kinds of emergent structures, ideally through time, across observable networks of communication and of social and instrumental relations, events, and activities.” (White, 2004, p. 173)

“Network analysts study the patterning of the social connections that link sets of actors. For the most part they seek to uncover either or both of two kinds of patterns. They often look for social groups—collections of actors who are closely linked to one another. Or, alternatively, they look for social positions—sets of actors who are linked into the total social system in similar ways.” (original emphasis) (Freeman, 2000, p. 2)

“Network analysis is a method of collecting and analyzing data from multiple individuals or organizations that may be interacting with one another. The focus here is on networks of organizations, recognizing that it is the individuals who actually interact on behalf of their organizations. Unlike more traditional methods, the unit of analysis is the relationship, not the organization itself. Network analysis allows for the examination and comparison of relationships between two organizations (dyads), among clusters or cliques of organizations, and among all of the organizations comprised by the network” (Provan, Veazie, Staten, & Teufel-Shone, 2005, p. 605).

Further Explanation

Cross and Parker (2004) explain that a social network analysis can be both “personal (egocentric) and group (bounded) network assessments.” (p. 143) When the personal approach is used, an individual is questioned about his or her contacts regarding a particular issue. When the group approach is used, a network or group is initially identified and a list of group members, who can be questioned about their ties within the group, is gathered.

Cross and Parker (2004) also list the following steps for conducting a social network analysis:

1. Identify a strategically important group.
2. Assess meaningful and actionable relationships.
3. Visually analyze the results using a social network diagram.
4. Quantitatively analyze the results using metrics such as centrality and cohesion.
5. Create meaningful feedback sessions.
6. Assess progress and effectiveness.

Examples

The following are some examples of network analysis being conducted in the real world.

1. A network analysis, conducted longitudinally, of informal conversational partners regarding AIDS and family planning in rural Malawi revealed that the network ties were weak. Also, “networks tend to be more stable over short periods of time, especially for males, and that family planning networks tended to be more stable than AIDS networks.” (Assche, 2005, p. 238). Some of the salient characteristics of these conversational networks are as follows. First, the networks are dynamic and their sizes increased between 1998, when the first set of interviews were conducted, and 2001, when the second set of interviews were conducted. Second, respondents reported to have strong geographical and social links with those they named as members of their network. Third, there is a substantial overlap—30% for males in 1998, 40% for males in 2001—between family planning and AIDS network partners (Assche, 2005).

2. A social network analysis conducted in Northern Ireland, to test the relationship between social contacts outside one’s religious group and political behavior, revealed that social contacts via marriage of Protestants with Catholics and vice versa significantly increased the chances of their identifying with the opposite political platform (i.e. Protestants with Irish Nationalism and Catholics with Protestant Unionists and Loyalists). However, social contacts between Protestants and Catholics through friendship, the workplace, or the neighborhood had no significant impact on their chances of identifying with the opposite political platform. (McAllister, 1983)

3. Halliburton, one of the leading organizations associated with the global petroleum and energy industries, used Social Network Analysis (SNA) to improve communities of practice (CoP) within their organization. In only one year, SNA produced a number of measurable results, in a global community of practice, such as a 24% decrease in customer dissatisfaction and a 10% increase in operational productivity. The SNA was geared towards increasing connectivity at key points within a community of practice and decreasing connectivity at irrelevant points. Some of the network diagnoses done through SNA are as follows. First, identification of the over reliance on a few important people. Second, identification of network silos where information was contained and not flowing out. Third, identification of the lack of awareness regarding expertise distributed in the network. Fourth, identification of key individuals who possessed expertise but maintained a peripheral position within the network; thus not participating to the extent possible. (Cross, Laseter, Parker, & Velasquez, 2006)

4. Network analysis conducted at a global technology organization revealed that there was an over reliance on key executives, whose absence led to a striking fragmentation in the network. One of the problems of this fragmentation, for example, was the inability of the lower rungs of the organization to collaborate and provide optimal solutions to customers. The identification of these problems led to significant restructuring of the workforce. (Cross & Parker, 2004)

5. A technology consulting organization changed its structure from having separate offices in each major city, which operated independently, to consolidating offices into four groups representing four regions of the United States. The rationale for the restructuring was to improve the ability to pool in expertise for a particular project and thus better compete with other consulting firms that had gone global and could tap into a larger pool of resources.

A network analysis was conducted to assess the level of collaboration in these four regions. There was a surprising disparity in the level of integration in one region that performed much better than another relatively fragmented region. While offices in the better performing region were actively sharing expertise, this was not the case in the other region, where there was no forum for the employees to interact. Also, the better performing region encouraged people to collaborate while working on a project, even if it meant assigning two people to work on the project for 3 months, and spending more money, instead on one person working on it for 6 months. There were differences, moreover, in the hiring practices of the better performing region, which gave separate weight to a candidate’s collaborative skills.

Selected References

Cross, R. & Parker, A. (2004). The hidden power of social networks: Understanding how work really gets done in organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Cross, R., Laseter, T., Parker, A., & Velasquez, G. (2006). Using social network analysis to improve communities of practice. California Management Review, 49, 32–60.

Cross, R., Parker, A., & Sasson, L. (Eds.) (2003). Networks in the knowledge economy. New York: Oxford University Press.

Decker, T. Conceptual distance in social network analysis. Journal of Social Structure, 6 (online). Available: http://www.cmu.edu/joss/content/articles/volume6/dekker/index.html

Freeman, L. C. Visualizing social networks. Journal of Social Structure, 6 (online). Available: http://www.cmu.edu/joss/content/articles/volume1/Freeman.html

Jaccard, J. & Levinson, R. A. (1995). Student opinion leaders and HIV/AIDS knowledge and risk behavior. Journal of American College Health, 43.

McAllister, I. (1983). Social contracts and political behavior in Northern Ireland, 1968-78. Social Networks, 5, 303–313.

White, D. (2004). Network analysis and social dynamics. Cybernetics and Systems: An International Journal, 35, 173–192. Reading List

Campos, J. Edgardo, and Jose Luis Syquia. 2006. *Managing the Politics of Reform: Overhauling the Legal Infrastructure of Public Procurement in the Philippines.* World Bank Working Paper 70. Washington, DC: World Bank

Cabañero-Verzosa, C. & Garcia, H. (2009). Building commitment to reform through strategic communication. The five key decisions. Washington DC: World Bank Group.

CommGAP, 2008, 'Coalition Building.' Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), World Bank, Washington DC

http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3746

This briefing draws on experience from around the world, particularly from Kenya, the Philippines, Georgia and India. It argues that effective coalitions require careful use of communication to foster trust among members while also leveraging diversity – a delicate balancing act. Communication strategies should be sequenced according to each coalition's particular needs and stage of formation.

Steve Masty (2008). Communication, Coalition Building, and Development: Public Enterprise Reform in West Bengal and Orissa States, India. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (Eds.), *Governance Reform Under Real-World Conditions: Citizens, Stakeholder, and Voice* (pp. 355–389). Washington, D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank.

ONLINE

Forsythe, Janice. “A Guide to Coalition Building.” Cypress Consulting.

http://www.cypresscon.com/coalition.html.

This guide offers clear descriptions of what coalitions are, their advantages and disadvantages, and how to go about building them.

“Coalition Building.”

http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/problem/coalition.htm.

People can build their power base and their ability to pursue (or resist) force-based strategies by building coalitions with people with complementary interests. Members of these coalitions promise to help each other advance their interests and defend themselves from external force-based strategies. This site offers a condensed explanation of what coalition building is and what it entails.

Wadud, Eric. “Coalition Building: Starting a Coalition.”

http://www.glsen.org/binary-data/GLSEN_ATTACHMENTs/file/92-1.pdf VIDEOS

Jose Edgardo Campos, Governance Practice Manager, World Bank Institute, World Bank Institute-CommGAP workshop on ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques’, 2009, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 2:22 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z_7fea0VoM&feature=youtu.be

Karen Tumulty, National Political Reporter, The Washington Post, World Bank Institute, World Bank Institute-CommGAP workshop on ‘Political Economy Analysis to Action: Political Communication Approaches and Techniques’, 2009, World Bank, Washington DC. Running time: 4:36 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox3l-U3cXOI&feature=youtu.be Mitigating the Collective Action Problem

Collective-action problems pose risks to successful governance reform. And so, we look need to look at the challenge of transforming indifferent, apathetic or the uninformed mass public to become informed and involved stakeholders. We explore the leading factors behind collective-action problems, drawing lessons from specific real-world experiences of how two countries, India and the Philippines, addressed the problem. Participants will learn mitigation techniques that can overcome these difficult obstacles to reform.

Key Concepts and Messages

- Addressing collective-action problems in reform is critical to breaking barriers arising from indifferent, apathetic or uninformed masses or groups with vested interests.
- The key factors that lead to collective-action problems are motivational and informational.
- Communication influence-mechanisms offer effective approaches in diminishing risks and creating opportunities for achieving positive reform outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

- Define and distinguish the factors that lead to collective action problems,
- Analyze different kinds of collective action problems and identify their respective characteristics,
- Apply mitigation techniques drawing lessons from practical real—world examples Mitigating the Collective Action Problem

**Exercise:** Small Group Work: Message Framing to Improve Service Delivery

**Session Length:** 90 minutes

______________________________________________________________________

**Teaching Notes and Process Guide**

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|--------------------------------------|

[Two active buttons here, side by side :]\*

Play Slideshow

Download Presentation File

*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* MESSAGE FRAMING TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY

Case study: Metro Sarangaya Water Reform Project

SMALL GROUP WORK

TIME ALLOTTED: 45 MINUTES

Note: Participants are required to have read the Sarangaya case study prior to this session. This material can be found in Session Nine on page \_\_\_\_.

PURPOSE

To apply your understanding of the collective action problem and mitigation techniques.

PROCESS

1. Ask participants to break into small groups of four to five people.
2. Advance to the slide for exercise instructions (Slide No. 17) and screen it for the participants.
3. Review the activity process: Role: You are a member of reform team of the Ministry of Water dealing with the problem in Sarangaya. • Identify a collective action problem • Define the type of collective action problem – political, organizational or public? • Determine the mitigation ‘strategy’ • Determine the mitigation ‘techniques’ • Use the flip chart to present results of group work indicating: Stakeholders, Goal, Type, Strategy and Tactics
4. Ask each group to present its exercise output in plenary.
5. Invite participants to share their insights and lessons about the process.
6. Summarize participant insights and observations.

## Approaches

### Make the case.

This approach calls for reformers to campaign actively for the proposed reform project and to transform indifferent or even hostile public opinion into support for reform objectives. In other words, the campaign itself will be an argument in favor of implementing the reforms. Making the case thereby implies that the reformers take an active stance in communicating the agenda and its importance in transforming public opinion; that is, the reformers assume the burden of explaining the worthiness of the proposed project. It is crucial, moreover, that the reformers arm themselves with the appropriate tools to help them win the battle against indifferent or hostile public opinion.

The techniques that can be used to implement this approach include the following: (1) communicate the costs of failure to implement and the benefits of implementing the reform project, (2) provide citizens with easy access to information that explains the reform project, (3) gather sufficient material resources to support the pro-reform campaign, (4) record the ongoing arguments so they can be referenced in the future, (5) communicate in language that is easily understandable, (6) use the appropriate communication tools for reaching the right people, (7) use narratives to argue in favor of reforms, (8) use strategic frames to argue in favor of reforms, (9) use trigger devices such as natural catastrophes, unanticipated human tragedies, technological repercussions, societal imbalance, and ecological change to argue in favor of reforms, (10) use condensation symbols, such as catchphrases, exemplars and metaphors, and (11) use ICT to monitor reforms.

### Build cultural empathy.

This approach suggests that reformers empathize with and understand the perspectives of those being influenced by the reform project. Reformers using this approach try to understand the reasons why people would support or oppose a proposed reform project and then explain the reform program in terms that resonate with the affected stakeholders. In this the use of locally influential people and local media to transmit messages that are culturally sensitive is particularly useful. The techniques that can be used to implement this approach include conducting opinion research, especially focus groups; using culturally relevant narratives to explain reforms; communicating in language that is easily understandable; issue framing; creating participatory reform groups (forums, summits, schools, and the like) to increase awareness for the reforms; using trigger devices to argue in favor of reforms; and adopting condensation symbols, such as catchphrases, exemplars, and metaphors.

### Use dialogue to create a participatory environment.

This approach calls for reformers to engage in dialogue with those affected by the proposed reform project. Instead of relying on one-way or monologic communication, this approach uses two-way communication that flows between the reformers and the affected stakeholder groups. Through engaging stakeholders in dialogue, reformers give stakeholders the space for engagement in the reform process instead of simply functioning as recipients of information about reform. To create a participatory environment, reformers could get involved in public deliberation, dialogue, and communal engagement in civil society institutions. Dialogue can also be fostered through ICT. The techniques that can be used to implement this approach include the following: (1) create participatory reform groups (such as forums, summits, and schools) to increase awareness reforms, (2) provide citizens with easy access to information that explains the reform project, (3) communicate in language that is easily understood, (4) use appropriate communication tools that reach the right people, and (5) respond to the citizens’ demands and needs; and use ICT to build networks and mobilize people.

### Techniques

| Use the Strength of Personality (PS) scale | A research technique for identifying influentials to mobilize public opinion around an issue is the Strength of Personality (PS) scale, which was developed in 1983 by the German scholar Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann of the Allensbach Institute. This scale evaluates the ability of an individual to influence others, based on the results of a questionnaire that asks respondents to give a self-assessment of their perceived personal influence. This technique can also be used for mobilizing networks and coalitions. Create participatory reform groups (such as forums, summits, and schools) to increase awareness about the reforms and develop stakeholder ownership for the reform. This technique creates participatory institutions or reform groups in which information regarding reform projects is shared and discussed to build understanding of the goals of the reforms. These reform groups should ideally be moderated or supervised by individuals from within the community that is targeted by the reform project, so that information regarding the reform project can be presented in culturally familiar terms. | | Use strategic frames to argue in favor of or to explain reforms | As commonly acknowledged by communication scholars, a frame can be defined as a pattern or structure for understanding the world around us. Frames can be used strategically to present an issue in a manner that benefits a particular political platform. This technique suggests that reformers use strategic frames to communicate the pro-reform messages. | | Reframe the issue rather when confronting hostility | This technique is useful for handling anti-reform public opinion. When people are hostile to a proposed reform initiative, this technique recommends that the pro-reform argument be reframed to curb hostility rather than using the objection to fight against the negative opinion. Reframing the pro reform argument requires taking into consideration the anti-reform argument. | | Communicate the benefits and costs of reform implementation versus failure to do so | This technique makes people aware of what they might lose with failure of the reform implementation; that is, they would continue to incur the material or monetary losses of which they may not even be aware, in order to increase pro-reform public opinion. | **Communicate in language that is easily understood, and generate support for reform through the use of frames and narratives.**

This technique recommends that the reformers speak in language that is easily understood and resonates with the people affected by the reforms. Instead of technical jargon, the use of ordinary terms is more effective for reaching out to the larger public.

Frames highlight terms and issues that are salient to audiences and provide critical value in an information campaign. Similarly, the use of narratives can also be effective in reaching out to certain stakeholder groups. A narrative is defined as a story told in the sequence in which it occurred. Narratives are commonly used in many communities to transmit cultural histories, values, and norms, and are thus useful in communicating effectively within those communities.

**Use appropriate media to reach affected stakeholders.**

In communicating with affected stakeholders, reformers should choose carefully the communication tools and media to reach them. For instance, depending on the local context, a particular medium that is more appropriate—billboards instead of newspapers—than another.

**Use ICT to build networks and mobilize people.**

This is a technique of using the power and reach of ICT to create networks of pro-reform campaigners through electronic mail, cellular phones, instant messaging and the Internet. MULTI-STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE

Defining Stakeholding

Stakeholding is a process by which stakeholders are actively involved in the design, delivery, review and improvement of products and services (including political and social services). Stakeholders are involved to ensure gains over the long term. Stakeholder theory describes organizational connections to stakeholders addressing how stakeholders can enhance an organization and become more engaged.

Types of Stakeholders

A stakeholder is a person, or group of persons, with who has an interest or concern in a particular process due to direct or indirect involvement. Marsh (1998) proposes four major types of stakeholders (p. 27).

1. Core Stakeholders—people essential to the organization or process
2. Customers—people who receive the product or service (community members, interest groups)
3. Controllers—people who define, regulate, and influence the organization or process (legislators, regulators, providers of capital, government services, media, trustees)
4. Partners—people through whom part or all of the service is provided (suppliers, temporary staff, distributors, agents, consultants)

Figure 1. Vector diagram showing example stakeholder requirements for a school (Marsh, 1998)

______________________________________________________________________

1 Marsh, J. (1998). A Stake in Tomorrow: World Class Lessons in Business Partnerships. London: B.T. Batsford Limited. 2 Freidman, A. L., & Miles, S. (2006). Stakeholders: Theory and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press. What is Stakeholder Dialogue?³

- An interactive, working communication process that involves all types of stakeholders in decision-making and implementation efforts.
- Involves all interest groups with a concern in a two-way communication process.
- Focuses on increasing understanding and relations among stakeholders through the use of communication that enable participants to move forward with implementation plans.
- Stakeholder dialogue is generative—discourages blaming for the past and creates a shared future.

Dimensions of Stakeholder Dialogue⁴

Pederson (2006) has identified five dimensions of stakeholder dialogue and engagement. These five dimensions define the extent to which a stakeholder dialogue is truly participatory. For a dialogue to be productive and participatory all these dimensions should be considered.

1. **Inclusion**—If important stakeholders are left out of decision-making the benefits of dialogue can be limited. Dialogue should include important groups and individuals affected by the issues.
2. **Openness**—Dialogue should be open so that all stakeholders have a chance to voice their opinions. Organizations should not have a predetermined agenda or plan.
3. **Tolerance**—One opinion should not take precedence over others, no arguments should be considered more legitimate. Stakeholders and organizations must be open minded.
4. **Empowerment**—Stakeholders should feel that they have the ability to affect the structure, process, and outcomes of dialogue (p. 142). Stakeholders will be less committed if they sense an imbalance of power.
5. **Transparency**—All stakeholders involved in the dialogue should be given information needed to make decisions and implement outcomes.

Factors that Affect the Quality of Stakeholder Dialogue³

Despite the desire for a productive and participative process, there may still be factors that influence the quality of stakeholder dialogue. The following four features determine the outcome of stakeholder dialogues:

1. **Commitment**—There must be a willingness to give priority and resources to the issue at the heart of the dialogue. Additionally, key persons must be committed to planning and implementation of decisions.
2. **Capacity**—Refers to the physical, organizational, and human resource available for stakeholder dialogue. Organizations with more resources may have more capacity for dialogue. However, even when organizations have capacity it does not mean they are willing to use them.

³ The Environmental Council (2006). *Principles of Stakeholder Engagement*. Retrieved May 21, 2007 from http://www.the-environment-council.org.uk/principles-of-stakeholder-engagement.html.

⁴ Pederson, E. R. (2006). Making corporate social responsibility (CSR) operable. How companies translate stakeholder dialogue into practice. *Business and Society Review, 111*(2), 137–163. 3. **Consensus**—A precondition for dialogue is that there be some degree of goal congruence and shared values or preferences. There must be consensus between participants in the dialogue and implementing agents.

4. **Consciousness**—Organizational leaders must assist in the implementation of stakeholder dialogue. Dialogues must become integrated into the organizational system as opposed to something extraneous. People must be conscious of how they translate stakeholder dialogue into action.

### Stakeholder Types and Strategies for Dialogue

While multiple stakeholder dialogues present an opportunity for participative and integrated decision-making, these dialogues can be challenging. Savage, Nix, Whitehead, and Blair (1991) suggest that organizations learn to manage their stakeholders and present a typology of stakeholders and strategies for managing each type.

#### STAKEHOLDER TYPE 1: THE SUPPORTIVE STAKEHOLDER

The supportive stakeholder is the “ideal” stakeholder that supports organizational goals and actions. **Strategy:** Involve supportive stakeholders to maximize their cooperative potential.

#### STAKEHOLDER TYPE 2: THE MARGINAL STAKEHOLDER

This type of stakeholder is neither highly threatening nor cooperative. These types of stakeholders are generally not concerned about issues (although they may have “hot button” issues). **Strategy:** Monitor these individuals and recognize their interests are specific. Activate these stakeholders when issues are salient to them.

______________________________________________________________________

5 Savage, G. T., Nix, T. W., Whitehead, C. J., and Blair, J. D. (1991). Strategies for assessing and managing organizational stakeholders. *Academy of Management Executive, 5*(2), 61–75. STAKEHOLDER TYPE 3: THE NONSUPPORTIVE STAKEHOLDER

These stakeholders have high threat potential and are low on cooperation. Therefore, these individuals are most threatening to an organization.

Strategy: Defend against a nonsupportive stakeholder. Reduce dependence that is the basis for the stakeholders’ interest in the organization or issue.

STAKEHOLDER TYPE 4: THE MIXED BLESSING STAKEHOLDER

These stakeholders are individuals who could potentially threaten or cooperate (Savage et al. (1991) describe these as people who are in short supply).

Strategy: These individuals must be managed with collaboration that seeks to maximize stakeholder cooperation (making threatening stakeholders less likely to oppose the organization).

Stakeholder Involvement Strategies

By engaging in dialogue or symmetrical communication both the organization and stakeholders may change. Organizations can seek to be influenced and influence other stakeholders by the following:

- Engage frequently and systematically with stakeholders to determine mutually beneficial action.
- Remember communication must be two-way. The aim of dialogue should be to achieve mutual understanding and rational agreement or consent.
- Organizations that set policies which dictate transactions with stakeholders will not be successful.
- Rather than imposing initiatives on stakeholders, invite stakeholders to become involved in negotiations to explore their concerns about initiatives (making changes along the way).
- If there are not channels for communicating with stakeholders—create them! Try to reach silent stakeholders and form partnerships with stakeholders early.

Stakeholder Management Strategies

The Clarkson Principles of Stakeholder Management are “highly respected in the literature as a model of best practice” (p. 152) and acknowledge a commitment to dialogue with stakeholders. These principles are directed specifically at managers who are responsible for the performance of an organization, making them aware of diverse constituencies and the use of stakeholder management to increase success. They believe that managers must recognize their obligation to deal openly and honestly with stakeholders and emphasize interdependence among stakeholders. The following are seven principles of Stakeholder Management.

______________________________________________________________________

6 Morsing, M. and Schultz, M. (2006). Corporate social responsibility communication: Stakeholder information, response and involvement strategies. Business Ethics, 15:4, 323–338.

7 Forstner, G., and Bales, J. (1992). Building dialogue into the public consultation process: Part one. Public Relations Quarterly. Fall 1992, 31–35.

8 Clarkson Center for Business ethics (1999/2001). Principles of Stakeholder Management. Toronto: University of Toronto. Reproduced 2002, Business Ethics Quarterly, 12, 257–264. Clarkson Center for Business Ethics (1999) Principles of Stakeholder Management

| Principle 1 | Managers should acknowledge and actively monitor concerns of all legitimate stakeholders, and should take their interests appropriately into account in decision-making and operations. | | Principle 2 | Managers should listen to and openly communicate with stakeholders about their respective concerns and contributions, and about the risks they assume because of their involvement with the organization. | | Principle 3 | Managers should adopt processes and modes of behavior that are sensitive to the concerns and capabilities of each stakeholder constituency. | | Principle 4 | Managers should recognize the interdependence of efforts and rewards among stakeholders, and should attempt to achieve a fair distribution of the benefits and burdens of organizational activity among them, taking into account their respective risks and vulnerabilities. | | Principle 5 | Managers should work cooperatively with other entities both public and private, to insure that risks and harms arising from organizational activities are minimized and, where they cannot be avoided, appropriately compensated. | | Principle 6 | Managers should avoid altogether activities that might jeopardize inalienable human rights or give rise to risks that, if clearly understood, would be patently unacceptable to relevant stakeholders. | | Principle 7 | Managers should acknowledge the potential conflicts between (a) their own role as organizational stakeholders, and (b) their legal and moral responsibilities for the interests of stakeholders, and should address such conflicts through open communication, appropriate reporting and incentive systems, and where necessary, third party review. | MULTI-STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE

This resource list is designed for those planning to train on or incorporate theory and research on multi-stakeholder dialogue into their training practice. Included are suggested textbooks, journals, case studies and websites that offer information beyond the participant handout.

Suggested Books on Multiple Stakeholder Partnerships and Communication

- Freeman, R.E. (1984). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Pitman: Boston.
- Freidman, A.L. & Miles, S. (2006). Stakeholders: Theory and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
- Kaner, S., Lind, L., Toldi, C. (2007). Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision Making (2nd Edition). Canada: John Wiley and Sons Canada, Ltd.
- Marsh, J. (1998). A Stake in Tomorrow: World Class Lessons in Business Partnerships. London: B.T. Batsford Limited.
- Pretty, J.N., Guijt, I., Thompson, J., and Scoones, I. (1995). Participatory learning and action: A Trainer’s Guide. London: IIED.
- Wates, N. (2000). The Community Planning Handbook – How People Can Shape Their Cities, Towns, and Villages in Any Part of the World. Earthscan Publications Ltd.
- Wenger, E., McDermott, W. and Snyder, W.M. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Harvard Business School Press.

Academic Publications and Research on Stakeholder Relations and Dialogue

- Clarkson Center for Business Ethics (1999/2001). Principles of Stakeholder Management. Toronto: University of Toronto. Reproduced 2002, Business Ethics Quarterly, 12, 257–264.
- Kaptein, M. and Van Tulder, R. (2003). Toward effective stakeholder dialogue. Business and Society Review 108: 203–224.
- Morsing, M. and Schultz, M. (2006). Corporate social responsibility communication: Stakeholder information, response and involvement strategies. Business Ethics, 15(4): 323–338. • Pederson, E.R. (2006) Making corporate social responsibility (CSR) operable: How companies translate stakeholder dialogue into practice. *Business and Society Review, 111*(2): 137–163.

• Savage, G.T., Nix, T.W., Whitehead, C.J., and Blair, J.D. (1991). Strategies for assessing and managing organizational stakeholders. *Academy of Management Executive 5*(2): 61–75.

**Helpful websites on Stakeholders and Stakeholder Dialogue**

• **The Environmental Coalition** http://www.the-environment-council.org.uk/principles-of-stakeholder-engagement.html The environmental coalition is an organization that facilitates multiple stakeholder dialogues. This website offers information on the principles of stakeholder dialogue.

• **MRS Research Portal** http://portals.wi.wur.nl/msp/?Articles\_%26_Books This site features a complete list of resources for those interested in stakeholder dialogue.

• **World Bank Participation Sourcebook** http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/sourcebook/sbhome.htm Chapter three discusses stakeholders and communication, featuring case studies.

**Case Studies for Use for Training on Multiple Stakeholder Dialogue**

• **Land Care Australia** This site offers a searchable database of case studies on a variety of environmental topics. http://www.landcareonline.com/

• **One World trust Selection of Case Studies** One World presents a collection of case studies on external stakeholder engagement. http://www.oneworldtrust.org/?display=esecasestudies

• **Practice of Integrated Rural Development in Hungary** This guide focuses on the particular processes needed to get stakeholders in a rural (regional) area together in order to contribute to integrated rural development. http://portals.wi.wur.nl/files/docs/msp/050330manupload/Pride_Guide_FINAL_FEB.doc

• **The Smart Growth Program** This organization focuses on smart growth and development in U.S. Cities. This site offers a variety of community and stakeholder collaboration case studies. http://www.smartgrowth.org/about/principles/resources.asp?resource=10&type=2&res=1024 • The World Bank Stakeholder Analysis Case Study: the Indonesian Rice Tariff PSIA http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSOCIALDEV/Resources/3177394-1168615404141/3328201-1169656534628/StakeholderAnalysisIndonesiaRice.pdf

• The World Bank Stakeholder Analysis Case Study: The Zambia Land Reform PSIA http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSOCIALDEV/Resources/3177394-1168615404141/3328201-1169656534628/ZambiaStakeholderAnalysisLong.pdf Post, L. A., Salmon, T. and Raile, A., 2008, ‘Using Public Will to Secure Political Will’, ch. 7 in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communications for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington D.C. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3710

This chapter from the World Bank’s book, Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions examines communication strategies for securing political will. These involve defining the issue, focusing attention on the issue and affecting policy. Securing public and political will involves a complex interplay of factors; it is advisable to use a number of approaches simultaneously.

David, R, 2008, ‘Transforming Adverse Public Opinion into Support for Reforms’, ch. 16 in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communications for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington D.C. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3714

This chapter from a book published by the Communications for Governance and Accountability Program outlines six practical steps to help reformers successfully communicate reform messages. It argues that successful advocacy campaigns need a combination of research, reason, reach, resources, record and review.

Singh, J.P., 2008, ‘Dialogues as Communication Strategy in Governance Reform’, ch. 4 in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communications for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington D.C. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3745

This book chapter from the World Bank examines ‘dialogic communication,’ or democratic deliberation, arguing that it offers citizens and public officials an opportunity to come together to find solutions to problems. Dialogic communication may be especially helpful for resource-constrained governments in designing public policy measures that find broad acceptance. Political analysis must guide development actors’ use of communication strategies.

Pruitt, B. and Thomas, P., 2007, ‘Democratic Dialogue: A Handbook for Practitioners’, General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, Washington, DC; International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm; United Nations Development Programme, New York http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3676

The first section of this handbook from CIDA, International IDEA, OAS and the UNDP outlines the need for dialogue and how it can make a difference in pursuit of peace, development and democratic governance. The number of dialogue processes taking place around the world has increased, as has the need for a greater understanding of effective dialogue.

Tufte, T. and Mefalopulos, P., 2009, ‘Participatory Communication: A Practical Guide’, World Bank, Washington, D.C. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3754 This publication outlines the four key phases of the participatory communication programme cycle. Genuine participatory communication is rare, but it can facilitate the empowerment of marginalised groups and have wider social and political effects. It requires continual dialogue with stakeholders. However, proper application of participatory communication methods is not enough to ensure a project’s success. Broader contextual requirements are important, including a flexible project framework (especially regarding timelines), a politically conducive environment, and an enabling attitude among stakeholders.

VIDEOS

Ernest Surrur, Ministry of Energy and Power, Sierra Leone, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenges’, 2007. Running time: 4:13 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqcUxcr9U&feature=related MANAGING CONFLICT AMONG MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS

This session provides participants with direct experience through dialogue engagement with multiple stakeholders whose reform interests, attitudes, motivations and perspectives are diverse and often conflicting with the expressed goals of change interventions.

We share some concepts and tools drawn from the academic literature on negotiation and conflict management that have been adapted for use by reform teams in developing countries. You are presented with practical approaches and techniques to help in preparing for these dialogues in a systematic manner as well as guidance on how the dialogue process can focus on joint problem-solving rather than one-sided advocacy. The ultimate goal for the dialogue is to reach a durable agreement among parties. An agreement is durable when parties in the dialogue assess their satisfaction on three fronts: on the substance of issues under consideration; on the fairness, inclusiveness of the dialogue process; and on a psychological level whereby they appreciate a sense of security as articulated in feelings and perceptions, while maintaining protected social status (external respect) as well as face (internal respect) as their personal performance has been acknowledged.1

Key Concepts and Messages

• Joint problem-solving, a core concept in negotiation and conflict management, is highly relevant to the process of engaging multiple stakeholders in dialogue in order to reach a durable agreement to pursue reform goals.

• Conflict occurs when stakeholders have diverse interests and disparate goals. A power imbalance results when weak parties are unable to have their voices heard and powerful parties “bulldoze” others to their way of thinking. In the rush to move reform forward, parties fail to listen and engage in unproductive dialogue that fails to seek common ground.

1 Fiutak, Thomas (2009). • Le médiateur dans l’arène : Réflexion sur l’art de la médiation. (The Mediator Within the Arena: Reflection on the Art of Mediation), Thomas Fiutak, Edition-Eres, Toulouse, France, Publisher, (Fall, 2009). MANAGING CONFLICT AMONG MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS

• Reform teams need to prepare for meaningful dialogue, a conversation which is usually best when occurring in small groups. There are ways to discuss the substance of the sources of conflict as well as manage the process of sharing information during dialogue that improve the likelihood of generating options that satisfy the interests of all parties.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Recognize how partisan perceptions impact stakeholder support or opposition to reform, • Differentiate between the use of strategic inquiry versus advocacy in dialogue, • Learn how to use dialogue to explore interests and options rather than merely as advocacy for a position, • Practice brainstorming and joint problem-solving skills, • Assess when and how dialogue enhances commitment to joint action, • Gain a deeper appreciation of the value of the three dimensions of negotiation: tactics “at the table,” the design of value-creating agreements, and the setup for a meaningful dialogue.

Exercise:

Three role play, simulation exercises will be conducted for this session. The case simulations provide experience in planning for dialogue and conducting and facilitating discussions around the table with stakeholders whose support is critical for successful reform.

• A Difficult Conversation – “The Bali Table” • Discovering Hidden Interests – Implementing the Philippines Procurement Reform Law • Role Play Simulation – Multi-Issue and Multi-Party dialogue / Sarangaya Water Reform

Following each case simulation, a debriefing will be conducted to highlight the relevant negotiation and conflict-resolution management concepts and approaches encompassed by the exercise.

Session Length: 8 hours

### Teaching Notes and Process Guide

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|-------------------------------------|

*Two active buttons here, side by side:*

- Play Slideshow
- Download Presentation File

*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* DIFFICULT DIALOGUE

Case Study: The ‘Bali’ Table

TIME ALLOTTED: 45 MINUTES

Note: The case summary should have been assigned as advance reading prior to this session.

PURPOSE

• Experience two ways of managing conflict, namely through arbitration and by mediation. • Gain an appreciation of the value of joint decision-making processes.

PROCESS

01. Divide participants in triads, and assign the roles of the disputants, Alex and Morgan as well as a neutral third party. There will be two rounds of dialogue. In the first round, the neutral third party will take the role of an arbitrator and will make a unilateral decision on who will claim the Bali table without consulting the two disputants. In the second round, the neutral third party will play the role of a mediator, helping the two disputants to clarify the issues and use productive and meaningful dialogue processes to reach a mutually-satisfying agreement.

02. Provide the following handouts: • The case description of the Bali Table is given to the two disputants. • Participant Instructions to Arbitrators is given to the neutral third party for the first round of dialogue. • Participant Instructions to Mediators is given to the neutral third party for the second round of dialogue.

03. The pairs of disputants, Alex and Morgan, are asked to read the case of the Bali Table prior to their discussion. A neutral third party is briefed outside the meeting room and asked to join a pair of disputants. The disputants conduct a dialogue for about 10 minutes.

04. In the first round of dialogue the neutral third party plays the role of an arbitrator, and makes a unilateral decision on who will take possession of the Bali table. In the second round of dialogue, the neutral third party plays the role of a mediator, and the two disputants decide on who should claim the Bali table.

05. Debrief in plenary after the two rounds of dialogue. Invite participants to share their insights and lessons from the process. FACILITATOR INSTRUCTIONS

06. Divide the group of participants into triads. The two disputants who will conduct the negotiation will be assigned the role of Alex and Morgan. The third person will first play the role of a neutral arbitrator, followed by the role of a neutral mediator. There will be two rounds of dialogue.

07. Ask the two disputants to read the case note on The Bali Table, prior to any discussion. The third person will be asked to step out of the room to receive a briefing on their role; first as an arbitrator and in the second round, as a mediator.

08. Distribute the Participant Instructions to Arbitrators (see Step One Handout for the assigned role of Arbitrator).

09. Ask Arbitrators to return to the room and join one of the pairs of disputants. Conduct the first round of dialogue/arbitration process, for about 10 minutes, after which the facilitator stops the dialogue.

10. Ask Arbitrators to write the name of the person who, in their opinion should receive the Bali table. There should be no consultation or discussion with the two disputants. The arbitrator stands and declares who should receive the table, while the two disputants remain seated.

11. Ask the third person to leave the room to receive his or her instructions on their second role as mediators, as described in Step Two Instructions. After the briefing they are asked to join a new pair of disputants.

12. When the mediator joins the two disputants, Alex and Morgan, the negotiation begins.

13. Stop the dialogue after about 10 minutes. The disputants stand to declare their agreement while the mediator remains seated.

14. Plenary Discussion: Ask participants to describe their experience in resolving conflict; first when the observer played the role of an arbitrator in comparison with the second round, when the observer played the role of a mediator.

    You may ask the following questions: From your experience, which of the two methods • Encouraged active listening and joint problem-solving? • Helped to discover hidden interests? • Explored options that led to a mutually agreed settlement?

15. To introduce concepts in conflict management, use the PowerPoint slides provided.

FACILITATOR NOTES FOR THE DEBRIEF

The purpose of this exercise is to allow participants to experience two ways of managing conflict, namely through arbitration and mediation. In the conflict-management literature, these two methods fall into two categories. The first category, called joint decision-making, consists of negotiation and mediation. The second category is third party decision making and includes arbitration, adjudication, and autocratic decision making. There is a third category which will not be dealt with in this session, which is called separate action, and includes retreat, struggle, and tacit coordination.1

Arbitration is a conflict management process whereby a third party makes a binding decision about the issues. Mediation, on the other hand, “preserves the voluntary, joint-decision features of negotiation,” as the

______________________________________________________________________

1 Pruitt, Dean G. and Carnevale, Peter J. (1993), p. 183. Negotiation in Social Conflict. CA: Brookes/Cole Publishing Company. disputants are free to accept or reject any suggestion made by the mediator.\\textsuperscript{2} Pruitt and Carnevale (1993, p. 2) define negotiation as “a discussion between two or more parties with the apparent aim of resolving a divergence of interest and thus escaping social conflict.” Lax and Sebenius (2006, p. 10) have further elaborated on the definition of negotiation by introducing the value of three-dimensional negotiation which includes negotiation tactics “at the table,” as well as deal-designs that create options to provide high value, and setup, which are moves “away from the table that set up the most promising situation once you are at the table.”\\textsuperscript{3}

In a review of research findings, Pruitt and Carnevale suggested that people in close relationships prefer joint decision making processes rather than third party decision and struggle.\\textsuperscript{4} In debriefing this exercise, the facilitator is therefore encouraged to allow participants to compare their experience with the behavior of the third party, taking on the role of an arbitrator and mediator. Research on how mediators help disputants to manage conflict include: (1) Structuring the agenda to help disputants reach agreement at an early stage of the dialogue, thus paving the way for future agreement on more contentious issues; (2) Overcoming the problem of “reactive devaluation” by having the mediator offer an option that would be rejected outright by the other party if this option was proposed by the one of the disputants; and (3) Reducing negotiator optimism about the likelihood that the other party will make large concessions. On the other hand, research on the role of arbitrators in helping disputants reach agreement has cited the following: arbitration was favored over negotiation and mediation when the dispute was complex and important; and time pressure increases attraction to arbitration.\\textsuperscript{5}

**CASE STUDY: “THE BALI TABLE”**

Morgan and Alex were for 25 years partners in a very successful law firm. Three months ago, they decided it was time to split the partnership and go their separate ways. During their partnership, they jointly acquired many items in the office, all of which they were able to easily split or thrown away…except for the Bali Table.

This much-revered desk had been part of the law firm from the start. Twenty-six years earlier, when Morgan and Alex were in law school together, they started their plans to have a shared practice. Morgan’s fiancé, wanting to help this venture, found the Bali Table in the rear of an old antique store. It was scratched, dented and falling apart, but Morgan’s fiancé, having a keen eye for these things, immediately realized its extrinsic value as well as its intrinsic worth; and it became the first piece of furniture for Morgan’s and Alex’s new law practice.

\\textsuperscript{2} Ibid, p. 165. \\textsuperscript{3} Lax, David A. and Sebenius, James K. (2006). 3-D Negotiation. Powerful Tools to Change the Game in Your Most Important Deals. MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. \\textsuperscript{4} Pruitt and Carnevale (1993) p. 191. \\textsuperscript{5} Ibid, p. 188. Once it was purchased, the fiancé brought it to Alex, who was well known as having a long passion for woodworking. Sure enough, over the next year Alex spent many hours bringing this table back to life.

After several attempts by each to argue, cajole, and threaten the other for possession of the Bali Table, the only result was greater and greater bitterness among them all.

Exhausted, they finally accepted that they had to bring in a neutral person to help them come to a conclusion.

(Fiutak, Thomas, 2003)

PARTICIPANT INSTRUCTIONS

STEP ONE Instructions for Neutrals for Bali Table Negotiation – Arbitrator

1. You will play the role of a neutral Arbitrator. In the other room, there are two parties, Alex and Morgan.
2. When you enter the room, sit with a pair of participants and wait for the signal from the session facilitator to begin the negotiation.
3. When the session starts, announce to both parties that you have been invited by both parties to arbitrate this dispute.
4. After introductions, you are to give to the parties the following instructions: “Thank you for inviting me to arbitrate the dispute between you. I have no information about the matter, which brings you to this arbitration. Therefore, I will ask you questions so I can understand the issues and interests that affect you in this matter. After ten minutes, I will make a ruling which declares who will win and who will lose.”
5. Then begin your questioning.
6. When the signal is given to stop, and without indicating to the parties your decision, and based on the information provided by both parties, write the NAME ONLY on a piece of paper of the party whom you declare the winner. WHATEVER THE OUTCOME OF THE DISCUSSION, YOU MUST CHOOSE ON BEHALF OF ONLY ONE PARTY – either Alex or Morgan.
7. The session facilitator will ask that each Arbitrator stand, then the arbitrator for each pair of disputants will read the name of the party on their piece of paper. No defense for the decision is to be made.
8. After all Arbitrators have declared their decisions, step outside the meeting room to receive instructions for the second round of dialogue.

STEP TWO Instructions for Neutrals at the Bali Table Negotiation – Mediator

1. You will now play the role of a neutral Mediator.
2. When you enter the room, sit with a pair of participants, neither of which you negotiated with as an arbitrator, and wait for the signal from the session facilitator to begin the negotiation.
3. When the session starts, announce to both parties that you have been invited by both parties to mediate this dispute.
4. After introductions the instructions you are to give to the parties are as follows:

“Thank you for inviting me to mediate the dispute between you. I have no information about the matter, which brings us to this mediation. Therefore, I will want to hear you discuss the issues and interests between you. I will have questions so I can better understand your points of view and help to clarify the issues. I will make no decisions for you, nor will I suggest any options. The total responsibility for any agreement, if any, is yours. We have ten minutes to see if an agreement can be reached. After that time, the two of you will be asked to describe whatever agreement you have reached.”

5. Begin.

When the signal is given to stop, each pair of Alex and Morgan will be asked to stand and declare to the group what agreement, if any, has been reached between them. You are to remain seated. DISCOVERING HIDDEN INTERESTS— “IMPLEMENTING THE PHILIPPINES PROCUREMENT REFORM LAW”

Case Study: Philippine Procurement Reform – Passing the Law

TIME ALLOTTED: 30 MINUTES

Note: The case summary should have been assigned as advance reading prior to this session.

PURPOSE

1. Differentiate the use of strategic inquiry versus advocacy in dialogue.
2. Learn how to use dialogue to explore interests and options rather than merely advocating a position.
3. Learn about the seven elements of negotiation and use these to engage in a dialogue that enhances the likelihood of reaching a durable agreement between the parties.

PROCESS

1. Divide the group into pairs. Assign the role of the Executive Director of the Government Procurement Policy Board to one person and the role of the Provincial Governor to the other person.
2. Provide participants with the following handouts:
   - Seven Elements of Negotiation – Strategic Compass
   - Background Information on the Stakeholders
3. Participants are given 12–15 minutes to conduct a dialogue using the Seven Elements of Negotiation-Strategic Compass, to guide the dialogue process.
4. Ask each pair to report on the results of the dialogue, describing both the application of the seven elements of negotiation and their final agreement, if any. Debrief in plenary

- Highlight that this exercise has provided participants with a real-world context for applying the seven elements of negotiation-strategic compass. Summarize by stating that tactics for conducting a dialogue where parties are in conflict, focus on seven elements, presented in the Strategic Compass.

- The dialogue needs to focus on three core actions: first, identifying and clarifying interests and needs of parties; second, generating several options that provide joint gains; and third, maximizing legitimacy of arguments, the pros and cons, by using objective standards and fair processes.

- There are four other elements that can be used in dialogue, namely: (1) Maintaining a constructive relationship; (2) Promoting two-way communication, balancing inquiry with advocacy; (3) Understanding alternatives, particularly the “best alternative to a negotiated agreement” or BATNA for all the parties involved; and (4) If an agreement is reached, clarifying closure (who will undertake which tasks and by when, and how these tasks are to be done) with the advice that it is helpful if there is agreement on the process early on, and a subsequent focus on the substance. The baseline negotiation exercise, conducted in pairs, provides participants with first-hand experience in using the Seven elements of negotiation in a real world case — the Implementation of the Philippines Procurement Reform Law.

FACILITATOR INSTRUCTIONS

1. Organize participants to work in pairs: One will assume the role of the Executive Director of the Government Procurement Policy Board, and the other will take the role of the Provincial Governor.

2. The goal is for the Executive Director to secure the cooperation of the Provincial Governor in the implementation of the new Procurement law.

3. Distribute the Participant Instructions.

4. Allocate 12–15 minutes for the two parties to engage in dialogue.

FACILITATOR NOTES FOR DEBRIEF

The debriefing will focus on the types of benefits that both parties have been persuaded will accrue to each of them if they cooperate to fully implement the law.

In the debriefing, ask participants to describe their experience. You can ask the following questions:

a. Were you able to clarify interests and needs of the other party? If yes, how did you achieve this? How easy or difficult was it?

b. Were you successful in jointly exploring options that were mutually beneficial?

c. Did you able to cite solid, legitimate arguments which persuaded the other party that the proposal was fair, as measured by an external standard, benchmark or accepted principle? If yes, how? If not, how could you have done things differently?

5. Seven Elements of Negotiation—Strategic Compass

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1 CM Partners, Henry, Eric. (2008, 2009, 2010). Presentation to the World Bank Group (WBG) staff during the course, “People, Politics and Change” held in Washington DC (2008), Manila, Philippines (2009, 2010) and Capetown, South Africa (2009).

2 Verzosa, Cecilia C. (2007). Discovering Hidden Interests. A hypothetical dialogue scenario derived from the case of the Philippine procurement reform. Participant Instructions

1. They will be assigned the role of an Executive Director of the Government Procurement Policy Board and a Provincial Governor.

2. This will be a negotiation between two participants. Begin the dialogue and negotiate an agreement between the Executive Director of the Government Procurement Policy Board who is responsible for the implementation of the newly-approved Procurement Reform law, and the Provincial Governor, one of the key stakeholders.

3. From the stakeholder mapping exercise conducted during the three-year period of negotiations with multiple stakeholders to build support for the passage of the law, local government officials were among those who were reluctant to fully endorse the passage of the law. Now that the law has been passed, full implementation of the new law will need the cooperation of local governors.

4. The goal is for the Executive Director to secure the cooperation of the Provincial Governor in the implementation of the new Procurement law.

5. Conduct the dialogue by applying the concepts in the Seven Elements of Negotiation—Strategic Compass.

6. Read the background information provided on the stakeholders.

7. The negotiation exercise will last about 12–15 minutes and will be followed by a debriefing in a plenary discussion.

**BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE STAKEHOLDERS**

| Learning Activity | Purpose | Procedure | |-------------------|---------|-----------| | Executive Director of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) (Reports to the Secretary of the Dep’t of Budget and Management, Office of the President of the Philippines) | | Provincial Governor | | Characterization | In her mid-40s, a talented lawyer with some 10 years of government service. Was actively involved in the advocacy work to get the law passed. Has formal working relationships with key Cabinet members, the legislature. Has good contacts with media and civil society organizations nationwide. | In his late 50’s, an articulate and smooth-talking politician whose family has been in politics for almost three decades. He has been Governor for two terms and is interested in holding on to political power for a long time. He belongs to the economic elite in the province. He got his college degree in business administration in Manila and has attended several leadership seminars sponsored by the national and local government. He remained on the political sidelines while the procurement law was being passed. He was betting this law will be like many others before it—laws get passed but are never fully implemented, as some bureaucrat was likely to find a creative way to avoid full and serious implementation. | Activity 3 Multi-issue, Multi-Party Dialogue

Case Study: Sarangaya Water Reform Case

Small Group Work Time Allocated: 3.5 to 4 Hours

Note: The case summary should have been assigned as advance reading prior to this session.

Purpose

- Recognize how partisan perceptions influence stakeholder support or opposition to reform
- Differentiate the use of strategic inquiry versus advocacy in dialogue
- Learn how to use dialogue to explore interests and options rather than merely for advocating a position
- Practice joint problem-solving skills
- Assess when dialogue enhances commitment for joint action
- Gain a deeper appreciation of the value of the three dimensions of negotiation: tactics “at the table”, the design of value-creating agreements; and the setup for a meaningful dialogue.

Process

1. There are three Acts for this session. The first Act involves having all participants with the same role discuss how to prepare to conduct the dialogue according to the characterization of the specific role. The second Act is an informal gathering of the 9 participants that constitute a universe. This provides them with an opportunity to have one-on-one conversations or small group chats to discover interests of various stakeholders. The third Act will be a formal negotiation in each of the universes.

2. Provide participants with the following handouts:

   - Case summary of the Philippine Procurement Reform (S5-HO1)
   - Philippine Procurement Perception Mapping (S5-HO2)
   - Each participant is given a description of his/her role.
   - Participants act out their assigned roles all throughout the three Acts.

3. Ask each universe to discuss the results of their negotiation highlighting how the stakeholders used the Seven Elements of Negotiation - Strategic Compass.

4. Debrief in plenary. Invite participants to share their insights and lessons from the process. Compare the experience of the various universes.

**FACILITATOR INSTRUCTIONS**

1. Organize participants into groups of nine (9) participants. Each participant is assigned a specific role as a stakeholder.

2. This role play is divided into 3 Acts, each one having a different scenario and objective.

Scenario 1 - Participants playing the same role (e.g. Minister of Water) meet to discuss how they will negotiate on the issue and provide peer advice on how the seven elements of negotiation can be deployed effectively to reach agreements that satisfy all parties.

**TIME ALLOTTED: 30 MINUTES**

Scenario 2 – This is an informal gathering of different stakeholders. The setting is a cocktail party where all stakeholders can socialize in an informal setting and engage in casual one-on-one conversations to discover their respective underlying interests and what options might be acceptable. It is also a chance to discover which parties are strongly opposed and understand their reason for rejecting an option or proposed solution.

**TIME ALLOTTED: 60 MINUTES**

Scenario 3 - This is a formal, on-the-table negotiation among the stakeholders and will be conducted immediately after the cocktail party.

**TIME ALLOTTED: 120 MINUTES**

Participants will act out their assigned role as defined in the Handout. This is a confidential note given to the participants which explains the objectives of the dialogue, and what should be their views and positions regarding the reform and their behavior during the formal dialogue. Each stakeholder will be expected to present and defend their positions persuasively.

**PARTICIPANT VOTING**

This role play will ask participants to cast a vote before and after engaging in dialogue to determine if and how the process has changed their position on proposed water reform.

1. Before the start of the formal meeting, the facilitator will distribute secret ballots to the participants where they cast yes or no vote to the reactivation of the water reform project.

2. After the formal meeting, the facilitator will conduct another secret balloting. This will give participants a second opportunity to reconsider their position and recast their vote after going through an hour-long negotiation process.

3. Before concluding the session, tally the votes – both pre- and post-negotiation sessions – and reveal the results to the participants. FACILITATOR NOTES FOR THE DEBRIEFING

This simulation of a complex, multi-issue, multi-stakeholder dialogue aims to underscore the need to have a deep understanding of stakeholder interests, while simultaneously managing the dialogue to ensure that all stakeholders have a voice in exploring interests, generating options and reaching agreement. In reforms, stakeholders are engaged in a long term reform process and must find ways to manage conflict while sustaining mutually-beneficial relationships with one another. Negotiation in the context of reform is not a one-time, stand-alone process. Negotiations are influenced by cross-cultural similarities and differences in perceptions, attitudes and behavior. Reforms usually involve multilateral negotiations with more than two parties that often provide an opportunity for the formation of coalitions. Reforms also involve a large number of stakeholders, with differing perspectives on the rationale for reform as well as the policy and institutional processes needed to resolve conflict in order to achieve reform goals.

Activity Flow-chart Metro Sarangaya Water Reform Case Study

Informal Gathering Purpose: Gather information and build rapport

Formal Meeting Purpose: Understand stakeholder interest, present persuasive arguments, explore options

Secret voting Purpose: Assess, decide and cast vote

Stakeholder Groups

Government - Policy makers

- Minister, Water Resources
- Minister, Urban Development

Government - Water Authority

- CEO
- Middle Managers
- Labor Union

Civil society organizations

- Citizens Action Forum
- Residents Water Association

Government Policy makers

- Minister, Water Resources
- Minister, Urban Development

Government - Water Authority

- CEO
- Middle Managers
- Labor Union

Civil society organizations

- Citizens Action Forum
- Residents Water Association

Revive water reform? Vote Yes - √ No - X To debrief the results of the secret balloting before and after the formal dialogue, note that when the participants in the formal dialogue are successful in managing both the substantive issues while simultaneously navigating the dialogue process, the results of the secret ballot may reveal that a greater number of stakeholders are in favor of reform after the dialogue than before the dialogue. On the other hand, in groups that did not effectively manage both a substantive discussion of the issues as well as the dialogue process, voting results may reveal more votes in favor of reform prior to the dialogue than after. In the latter case, the formal dialogue was not effective in securing a durable agreement among stakeholders.

**HandOuts**

1. Case study - Sarangaya Water Reform
2. Role Play Instructions for Each Stakeholder

**NOTE TO FACILITATOR:**

There are 2 parts to the Confidential Note to be given to each participant:

1. The Role Play Instructions
2. The Role Description for Each Stakeholder

Please make sure that these two sections are attached as one handout.

**Role Play Instructions**

Each participant is assigned a specific role as a stakeholder. Instructions for each role are found in a CONFIDENTIAL NOTE to guide each participant in acting out their respective roles. Here are the nine (9) roles:

- Minister of Water Resources Development, MSWA Chairman
- Minister of Urban Development and Secretary, Presidential Council of Advisers
- CEO, Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA)
- Leader, MSWA Middle Managers Group
- Leader, MSWA Labor Union
- Head, Citizens Action Forum (CAF)
- Representative, Metro Sarangaya Residents Water Association
- Representative, People’s Coalition for Change (PCC)
- Country Director, and Administrator, Global Common Fund (GCF)

The role play will conducted in two stages: the first will be an informal gathering of stakeholders, and the second will be a formal, on-the-table negotiation among the stakeholders.

**FIRST MEETING**

You will attend a cocktail party where all stakeholders can socialize in an informal setting and engage in casual one-on-one conversations. This gathering provides an occasion to initially build relationships and gather some needed information. SECOND MEETING

You will be participating in a formal meeting with the other stakeholders where you will be expected to articulate your specific position. The discussions could turn into heated debates so you need to be prepared to defend your position and challenge those of others should the situation warrant.

You will be a participant in a stakeholder dialogue. Your assigned role is described in the attached CONFIDENTIAL note.

Summary Background

The Government of Livonia has requested donor assistance in the development of a comprehensive water sector reform program for Metro Sarangaya. This will involve multi-donor support under a Global Common Fund under a Fund Administrator. The proposed water reform program will provide universal, continuous and safe water supply, upgrade trunk mains, repair leaks, provide water meters, and bring piped water to poor neighborhoods. It will also improve the operation and maintenance of the Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA) and strengthen its financial standing and operational capacity. To improve the quality of governance and service delivery, measures to enhance transparency and accountability will be implemented.

To date, the project remains inactive. The government’s decision to shelve the reform program due to public opposition arose from alleged misconduct in the bidding of contracts for technical studies. A total of US$2 million was earmarked for the conduct of the studies. These would have included technical and economic feasibility studies that would provide recommendations and guide the design of the project.

Purpose of Stakeholder Dialogue

A stakeholder dialogue convened jointly by the Ministry of Water Resources Development and the Ministry of Urban Development will be held on March 19, 2008. The outcome of the dialogue will determine whether the government will reactivate the proposed water reform program. For this to happen, outstanding issues among key stakeholders need to be threshed out and can be resolved only if all parties arrive at a workable agreement that is mutually acceptable.

The objectives of the dialogue

- To ensure that there is a common and shared understanding of the reform
- To establish that genuine interest exists among stakeholders to support the reform
- To understand the underlying reasons (needs, fears, concerns) behind the stakeholder’s positions through effective inquiry and active listening
- To engage in a collaborative, joint-problem solving process and reach agreement on specific actionable steps that address differences and result in mutually beneficial gains

Participants in the dialogue

Government

Minister of Urban Development and Secretary, Presidential Council of Advisers Minister of Water Resources Development and Chairman of Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA) CEO, Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA) Spokesperson, Middle Managers Group Multi-issue, Multi-Party Dialogue

Labor Leader, MSWA Labor Union

Civil society

Head, Citizens Action Forum (CAF) Representative, People’s Coalition for Change Representative, Metro Sarangaya Residents Water Association

Donors

Country Director, Donor Fund Administrator, Global Common Fund (GCF)

Instructions to Participants

Each participant is assigned a stakeholder role in the dialogue. The attached note provides a description of your particular role. Read it carefully and reflect on how you can play this role effectively given your specific background, your positions and interests. Think of creative ways to act out your role.

There will be other participants assigned to the same role. Be prepared to work with them, develop a strategy and identify ways you can best deploy the techniques learned. These will include joint problem-solving, understanding perceptions and interests, developing options and identify specific action steps.

During the dialogue, listen actively and articulate your views clearly, effectively and persuasively. Be as convincing, engaging and disarming in the dialogue. Appeal to both the heart and mind of your target audience or decision maker -- using wit, humor, or when necessary, share evidence-based information to bring a better understanding of the problem.

While you are encouraged to draw on your creativity in approaching our role, you must always be guided by the facts and the context of your role during the dialogue. This provides the perspective and vantage point from which you will play your role in the dialogue and deploy what you think are the most effective techniques.

Effective communication is critical in bringing stakeholders with opposing views to resolve differences through a process of collaborative and productive dialogue. Government

Leader, MSWA Labor Union

You have made it clear to senior management that the Union will not accept their indifference and lack of transparency in the decision-making process, especially when it will affect your livelihood and your families. You demand respect of your rights as contributing members of the work force.

One underlying and upsetting concern is Management’s failure to grant full rights to the Union, which is entitled to engage in negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, and policies that will affect the workers. The union was organized four years ago and Management has successfully managed to delay the process of finalizing any terms of agreement. You intend to use the dialogue as an opportunity to raise this issue and press Management into a commitment to set a timetable for finalizing an agreement.

As a resident of Sarangaya, you recognize and welcome the benefits of the proposed program. You are hopeful that, for the sake of the women and children in your families, positive changes will be made to improve the water situation will be implemented through the proposed reform. Many of you live in neighborhoods where water interruptions are worse than the rest of the city. Women and children bear the brunt of the water problem, with women spending much of their productive day waiting in line to collect water from private tankers, while children’s health suffer caused by water-related illnesses due to unsafe drinking water. You are prepared to pay the increase in tariff in exchange for clean, reliable water that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

As many of you have said, “The only reason we are all working very hard, and committing our working lives to MSWA, is to provide the best we can for our families despite limited means. Our aim is to promote employment conditions for the workers…not to disrupt, cause trouble and hamper Management’s ability to conduct its mission.” Others were enthusiastic and motivated by the positive changes proposed in the reform, “One motivating factor in the proposed set-up is the provision of performance incentives. We hope that will materialize.”

As many of you have said, “The only reason we are all working very hard, and committing our working lives to MSWA, is to provide the best we can for our families despite limited means. Our aim is to promote employment conditions for the workers…not to disrupt, cause trouble and hamper Management’s ability to conduct its mission.” Others were enthusiastic and motivated by the positive changes proposed in the reform, “One motivating factor in the proposed set-up is the provision of performance incentives. We hope that will materialize.”

Your other concerns are: “the establishment of a permanent mechanism that will ensure a two-way, regular flow of communication; a fair and equitable compensation package for laborers and workers who will lose their jobs; and job assistance placements to retrenched employees, if company layoffs become inevitable.

You would be amenable to work out options that address only some of your interests. STAKEHOLDER 2

Government

Spokesperson, Middle Manager of MSWA

You represent a group that serves as the critical link between MSWA senior management and the staff. Middle managers are key actors in the reform process, since you will be responsible for adapting the new priorities, implementing the reform program and managing people and change processes. One of your tasks is also to reorient staff to the change-initiative, get them on board and in sync with new approaches and new ways of going about their work.

However, you also represent a group with diverse attitudes about the reform, from skepticism to fear and uncertainty. Some middle managers felt excluded, bypassed and their input disregarded when Management failed to solicit their contributions and engage them in the thinking and planning process of the proposed reform. Middle managers, like you, have served MSWA for many years, equipped with tacit knowledge and a wealth of experience given their long tenure. They may not offer sophisticated technical know-how most required in the design stages of the reform initiative but they have the ‘institutional memory’ and built long-term relationships with the staff and rank-and-file employees who will be affected by the reform changes.

“The success and sustainability of the reform implementation depends largely on our ability to execute the necessary organizational changes and to mobilize cooperation of the staff as well as other government agencies involved. We will end up translating the organization’s vision into action. Why were some of us left out while senior management discuss and decide behind closed doors?”

Others in the group represent concerns about the risks involved in making drastic changes in the organization. They are comfortable with the present bureaucratic culture and are likely to resist change especially if it will pose a threat to their job security or their pensions. “We need to understand the reasons for making needed changes in the organization as part of the reform. What’s in it for us? Why should we rock the boat? We would just be adding more to our problems because of pressure from the troublemakers and noisy NGOs.” There has been increasing support for the labor union among middle managers. Some are believed to be strong, but anonymous supporters of the labor union. They do not want to attract the attention and ire of senior management.

Your main concerns: (1) you want to be fully engaged and informed in the process and establish a permanent mechanism to facilitate this, (2) you want clarity and commitment from senior management on the extent of organizational and personnel management reforms that will be required as part of the overall change initiative, and (3) you expect to have the resources to support and implement an effective communication strategy. Government

Minister, Urban Development and Secretary of National Advisory Council

You are a highly influential minister in the government. You are a trusted adviser and a close confidant to the President. The President created a small informal group of policy elites, the Presidential Council of Advisers, which the President chairs and has designated you as the Secretary. You are often called upon to give advice on key policy issues, and more importantly, the political ramifications of critical decisions on reforms and development initiatives. On the proposed water sector reform, it was your recommendation to the President to put it on hold, a proposal which received unanimous agreement from the other Council members.

As Minister of Urban Development and a Board member of the Metro Sarangaya Water Authority, you also have an advisory role in the country’s water resources development agenda. You welcome donor support and value the partnership; however, you are unhappy about the stringent conditions that have been imposed in some donor-assisted urban projects. The lack of donor harmonization is still a problem, and as the key policy maker for urban services, your Ministry has experienced many of these problems in recent years. “Donors need to get their act together. We have such limited capacity and we cannot afford to stretch our human and physical resources to cater to diverse agendas and approaches”.

You have strong nationalistic sentiments. You believe that development should be done, by the people and for the people. Having too many foreign consultants in local projects has always been a concern. “If donors are keen to build capacity, why do they insist on sending foreign consultants to do work that our own local experts can do just as well.” You have, however, made public expressions of support for the proposed water sector reform: “The public is demanding its right to clean water. Water and sewerage reforms are a top priority of government. I see no reason for any resistance to change. MSWA’s vision of “providing universal 24/7 safe water supply in an efficient, equitable and sustainable manner” should be disseminated to citizens in a language free of any jargon.”

Nonetheless, you have strong political sensitivities with respect to the timing of reforms, since the pay off is too great when reform initiatives are met with public opposition. You believe that reforms are likely to be more successful if they are supported by a broad-based coalition. Government

Minister, Water Resources Development and MSWA Chairman

You have an established track record as a no-nonsense reformer. Some of your proud achievements include overhauling inefficient and corrupt mass transit system, abolishing the use of diesel fuel among public utility vehicles, and pushing urban land reform.

You are not one to rest on your laurels. You are determined to build on your momentum as a reform champion and agent of change; and your next most important priority: water sector reform.

“Powerful and persistent” best describe you as a leader and administrator. You have gained a reputation for being tough-as-nails, and your ability to get things done is unquestioned. However patience is not one of your virtues. Your key message as inaugural speaker in the last International Water Summit confirms this: “Drinking water is a priority area. And a reform program has to be done today and now. Time is of great importance. We cannot wait for a decade or even five years for things to happen. Neither can we put things on hold until the outcome of any study. We have to move fast even if we make mistakes in the short run. Delay in action is a worse mistake.”

The supporters of the reform program applaud your steady resolve and sense of urgency. And you are confident that you can count on the donor community as Livonia’s development partner. You welcome their support, both its funding and knowledge resources, and consider these valuable in strengthening needed capacity to address Sarangaya’s daunting urban challenges. Addressing their concerns on governance and accountability, however, raises some doubts on how far and how fast you can deliver expected results.

You believe that ‘all development is politics.’ You come from a political clan and political legacy is important to you. While you are fully convinced of the long-term economic benefits of the water sector reform program, you are worried about short-term negative impact of increased tariffs. You understand the President’s concern about the reform’s political repercussions and on your family’s broad-based constituency. It is important for you to reach a consensus on the outstanding issues. You represent one of the most vocal groups, the Citizens Action Forum, which is widely identified with the pro-accountability movement. In fulfilling its mission, CAF has also evolved into a collective voice that represents strong nationalist sentiments. In the process, it has attracted other unorganized groups, who identify with your message and focuses their energies on waving the anti-foreign donors flag.

Hearing of the alleged misconduct in the bidding process, you took this as an opportunity to use the public sphere and strongly advocate your agenda of protecting national interests, while at the same time demanding public accountability.

Your two main concerns are the related issues of privatization and foreign intervention. In your public statements you have been unequivocal and uncompromising in your positions:

“The Bank’s intervention in the bidding process raises suspicion and is fundamentally flawed”

“Who should decide the agenda of reforms? The bank or the borrower? The people oppose privatization. The donors cannot dictate their terms.”

The Country Director and Donor fund Administrator has responded squarely with the issues you have raised. You have noted their responses, but expect more in terms of addressing your specific demands: (1) a record of assurance and clear plan of action which ensures that the foreign workers brought in will only provide the technical know-how and not take over the operation of the utility, or benefit from its profitability when a successful reform implementation is achieved, (2) that privatization will not be considered at any stage in the reform, and (3) the establishment of a permanent mechanism that will ensure a two-way, regular flow of communication and access to regular updates on the progress of the proposed reform.

Overall, you are encouraged to see that public opinion and a collective voice can have an impact on government’s action. You represent a group that strongly advocates inclusive and broad-based public participation and its most important mission is fighting corruption. On the failed water sector reform, you have articulated your message clearly: “Why do the donors continue to fund development programs despite rampant corruption in government? The MWSA has always been the milking cow of bureaucrats and politicians. It is a source of political corruption; a waste of the taxpayer’s hard earned money. Any procurement process should be done with utmost transparency. We demand to be represented at all times.”

As active monitors of corruption, PCC strongly believes in raising public awareness for ways of fighting corruption, educating the public on the causes and consequences of corruption, and stirring up sentiments of indifferent or uninvolved citizens. Your group is also reaching out to civil society activists and professional associations to demand integrity and ethical behavior among government officials. You have coalesced with professional associations in efforts to create public demand for codes of conduct and corruption-free behavior within the public and private sectors, and even among the general public. You have joined them in advocating integrity pacts promoted by Transparency International. This not only strengthens public participation in projects, but it is a pledge among contractors, suppliers and government agencies making expressed commitment to refrain from offering or accepting bribes in public contracting.

On the proposed water sector reform, you have two specific concerns that need addressing. You want great clarity and specificity on the:

- Accountability and performance criteria among operators,
- Performance monitoring and independent audit,
- Open and continuous public engagement in the audit.

You welcome the government’s initiative to convene a stakeholder dialogue. And a highly satisfactory outcome for you would be the creation of a permanent mechanism that will institutionalize relations and open, two-way communication processes between civil society and the public water authority. You represent a group that initially started as a small community-based neighborhood association led by informal leaders who are committed to representing the genuine interests of urban residents. However, collusion and corrupt behavior infiltrated the informal group, and it has now evolved into a constituency largely influenced by the economic interests and rent-seeking behavior of private water sharks. Over the years, the leaders of the association have gained a captive market through their access and capacity to generate underground water supply. Through some of its members, the association has also managed to influence results of public bidding to favor small contractors that actively support the association.

At the same time, the association also has become a strong collective voice in opposing increases in water tariffs. Many continue to believe that consumers across the board, especially in low-income households, are vehemently opposed to any reform that will increase the costs of paying for water from private sources.

You have chosen to follow the message of the Citizens action Forum and echo their fears that the reform is a move toward privatization. “In the name of privatization, they can’t snatch our collective resources. There is sufficient water, but it’s the wastage in transit that fails the water authority.”

Your main concern is the impact of the reform on your group’s economic interests. But you are also apprehensive about a failure to maintain a positive communication and working relationship with MSWA. You are aware that some officials are suspicious of the association’s actions and you are careful that you do not further antagonize them. Should the reform happen, in any case, you realize that you could lose a lot more opportunities as the water authorities may totally discredit and disbar the association from engaging in any MSWA activity.

You are open to exploring options but have to weigh the implications of these, particularly on the economic gains you are currently enjoying, against the prospect of benefiting from a more inclusive and transparent system that may also offer more legitimate profit-making opportunities. You have just been appointed to this position after a five-year posting as Country Director in East Africa. Although you have been fully briefed by the country team and received comprehensive project documentation, you are uneasy about any possible gaps in information that you may have, given the long-history and extended delays on the proposed reform.

In your mind, the unfortunate miscalculation of the strength of NGOs enhanced by Livonia’s Right to Information Act raised many questions: (1) Why was the Bank ill-prepared to respond to ill-founded allegations? (2) Why was a comprehensive communication and public engagement strategy not put in place early in the process? Obviously this one fell through the cracks. Yet the Bank team, for sure, covered all the technical bases and kept the relationships with the MSWA technocrats intact. But you also strongly believe that broad-based public engagement is not only necessary but vital, and that strategic coalitions need to be forged if public sector reforms are to successfully take off and become successful.

In an internal management meeting, you did not mince words about the Bank’s inability to effectively bring key stakeholders, early, broadly and proactively, to the table. “Unfortunately, we continue to assume that technical know-how trumps political will. We may have confidence in a ‘water tight’ design given our wealth of global experience, but we have much to learn about the flawed process in mounting this reform program. Our critics are mistaken when they charge us of failure to hold consultations. But we also cannot deny the fact that our belated attempt to conduct dialogues was, at best, ad hoc and sporadic.”

With the Country Director as convener, you and the chief administrator of the Global Common Fund will lead the donors group in the dialogue. You have agreed to take the position of an active listener, maintaining strong support for the proposed reform. However, you may need to address outstanding technical issues, if they arise and strongly set the record straight, should the false allegations of Bank misconduct resurface. Your main concern is to keep the lines of communication open for the reform program, explore all avenues for ensuring both government and public ownership of the program.

You may have to reiterate the following points which were part of the donor’s official response to the complaints raised by the Citizens Action Forum:

- The donors are not proposing privatization, neither are we recommending it. There is nothing like this in the project timetable, at any stage, which is being considered or promoted.
- On procurement guidelines - These are accepted global benchmarks by our supporters and critics alike. These guidelines and policies are all in the public domain and can be easily accessed on our website.
- Procurement guidelines are based on four criteria: (1) ensuring economy and efficiency, (2) providing all eligible bidders from developed and developing countries the same information and equal opportunity, (3) supporting the development of domestic contracting and manufacturing industries in the borrowing country, (4) emphasizing the importance of transparency in the procurement process. In all procurement transactions, the short-listed firms comprise three to six firms with a wide geographic spread, with no more than two from any one country, and at least one from a developing country, unless qualified firms from a developing country are not identifiable. The original shortlist included only developed country firms; this is why the donors asked that a firm from a developing country be included.

In your written response to the Citizens Action Forum you stated: “We do not see this as ‘donors calling the shots’ or ‘running’ the borrower’s affairs, but ensuring in partnership with the borrower yields a transparent and fair procurement process. It involves a contract that is being funded with public money. The insinuation that the Bank attempted to favor an international consulting firm is completely unfounded.” Government

CEO, Metro Sarangaya Water Authority

You have the full confidence of the Minister and Chairman of Metro Sarangaya Water Authority. You were personally hand-picked for this position among other highly qualified contenders. Your strongest asset is your technical expertise as a water and sanitation engineer. The move from the private sector to a public-service job was a relatively smooth transition, but admittedly, you find the politics and bureaucratic mindset painfully aggravating, as they oftentimes cramp your technocratic style.

Your hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves professional ethic has always worked in your favor. Having been very much involved in the technical feasibility and economic cost-benefit analysis, you are convinced that the program will dramatically improve water service delivery and yield the expected economic benefits. In your presentation to the policy elites and fellow-technocrats you made a strong case for the reform program on the basis of its financial and economic feasibility and its significant impact on operational efficiency.

Your credibility lies in your ability to clearly articulate the positions taken by MSWA. In the dialogue, you need to be prepared to respond to the most important issues that have been raised, such as:

- On bringing in foreign companies: They will provide special expertise required for upgrading the system to provide continuous water supply requires specific expertise. They bring global experience which none of our local experts have. Their technical know-how can upgrade MSWA’s operations; provide valuable staff training based on international standards.
- On tariff hikes: Surveys show that people, even the poor, are willing to pay for quality water services. Tariff increases will be gradual, relative to improvements in the service delivery efficiency.
- On concerns about accountability among operators: Clear performance criteria will be established and recorded in enforceable contracts. MSWA will pay the operators a fixed management fee for satisfying the specified performance objectives. The management fee will be determined by an open, competitive process. Operators will be given a bonus if they exceed the minimum criteria, and penalties will be imposed for poor performance.
- On concerns about performance monitoring and independent audit: Technical audits will be conducted by independent auditors, to review the operator’s performance against agreed targets. The auditor’s report will be a public document. MSWA and the Government will involve the Residents Welfare Associations, the Citizen Action Forum and other NGOs to ensure public engagement in the audit.

You are cautious about mishandling the situation this time around, since you have seen how the NGOs have shown their capacity to sway public opinion and influence the public debate to derailed reform process. Similarly, you view the conflict with the Labor Union as an undesirable situation that needs to be addressed. Its lack of support will impact the success of the reform. You also see the potential and positive role of the Labor Union, as an organized and cohesive group for raising awareness about the reform and the benefits it can bring to the city of Sarangaya. The union can serve as credible channel of information especially among associations of wage workers, employee groups and the general public. Your primary interest is to address all outstanding issues in a fully satisfactory manner, with the ultimate goal of moving opposing as well as neutral stakeholders into exploring options that will get the water sector reform implementation back on track. You will be an active listener, understand the motivating factors that drive the demands of stakeholders, and use this perspective for advocating the reform, highlighting its benefits and the obvious consequences of inaction.

Yet you remain wary about the demands from the Sarangaya Residents Water Association, since you are convinced that they are not truly representative of the residents, since their strong views against privatization seek primarily to protect their economic interests and preserve their rent-seeking, collusion-prone behavior. CASE STUDY – SARANGAYA WATER REFORM CASE

Down the Drain: Metro Sarangaya’s Derailed Water Sector Reform A case study on the politics of change

People, Politics and Change Course on Communication and Governance

This case study was written by Helen Garcia, Consultant, Communication and Governance Program (CommGAP), Operational Communication Division, External Affairs Vice Presidency, World Bank. It was used as a core teaching tool in the course ‘People, Politics and Change,’ CommGAP’s Global Learning Program delivered from 2008–2009 in Africa, Asia and Washington DC. Sarangaya is a fictional case based on multi-country experiences in the water sector and prepared solely as training material. Caby Verzosa, Communication Advisor, and Sina Odugbemi, CommGAP Program Head provided overall guidance. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions in this case study are the author’s alone and should not be attributed to the World Bank, its affiliated organizations, members of its board, or the countries they represent. Contents

A politically-expedient exit strategy ................................................................. 428 Twice the pain – a bankrupt and corrupt sector .............................................. 428 Tracing a troubled timeline ........................................................................... 429 The road ahead ................................................................................................. 432

Annexes

1. Socio-economic and political environment of Livonia .............................. 434
2. Governance and corruption statistics ......................................................... 437
3. Political economy analysis of water sector reform .................................... 439
4. Public Opinion Survey ................................................................................ 440
5. Press articles ............................................................................................... 441

CHARACTERS

Joseph Mantua CEO, Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA) Sonya Gilbert Minister of Water Resources Development, MSWA Chairman Olma Chidari Minister of Urban Development and Secretary, Presidential Council of Advisers Alan Reddy Leader, MSWA Middle Managers Group Isaac Sabir Leader, MSWA Labor Union Nagar Kouzi Head, Citizens Action Forum (CAF) Arun Gopalan Metro Sarangaya Residents Water Association Jim Randall Administrator, Global Common Fund (GCF-Donor Group)

ACRONYMS

CAF Citizen Action Forum CEO Chief Executive Officer CSO Civil Society Organization GCF Global Common Fund GDP Gross Domestic Product MSWA Metro Sarangaya Water Authority NSP National Solidarity Party PDP People’s Democratic Party PPF Project Preparation Facility RTI Right to Information TOR Terms Of Reference Down the Drain: Metro Sarangaya’s Derailed Water Sector Reform

A case study on the politics of change

“This has to stop!” thought Joseph Mantha, visibly infuriated as he pored over the news clippings. Not the kind of press coverage he was exposed to as former Manager of Technical Operations in Jackson-Sterling Inc., one of the largest international management consulting firms in the country. Highly respected for his technical know-how and managerial savvy, Joseph is well-known in his circles as a topnotch water and sanitation engineer. A frequent recipient of awards and accolades for his work, he was a popular figure among academic elites and professional associations, a favorite guest speaker in their conferences and annual conventions. And for all of these, he made the headlines and often enjoyed positive coverage. But this time it was different. Very different.

Now, as CEO of Metro Sarangaya Water Authority (MSWA), a parastatal organization and primary provider of piped water supply and sewerage services, he is battling heavy media attack. Allegations of a rigged bidding process for technical studies in the proposed water sector reform have put a negative spotlight on MSWA authorities and senior government officials involved. The proposed comprehensive reform would provide reliable, affordable and sustainable water supply to the city and ensure customer-oriented service delivery. A US$650 million loan under a Global Common Fund (GCF) will finance the program with additional funding support for the feasibility studies to be provided through a GCF project preparation facility (PPF). The Global Common Fund (GCF) was created by a group of donors from bilateral and multilateral institutions for improved public service delivery. Jim Randall, is the convenor of the donor group and designated Fund Administrator.

On Joseph’s computer screen is the draft email addressed to his boss, Water Resources Development Minister Sonya Gilbert in her capacity as MSWA Chairman. The short message would inform the Minister that the Board minutes of the emergency meeting will be sent shortly. The MSWA Board just approved the Minister’s recommendation to put on hold the Metro Sarangaya Water Sector Reform Program. It was the only decision item in the agenda.

Re-elected for a second term, Minister Gilbert became concurrent Chairman of the water authority. A strong-willed and reform-minded leader, she outperformed her predecessors with a stellar record in public service. She revamped the corrupt and poorly managed mass transit system, abolished the use of pollution-causing diesel fuel among public utility vehicles, and pushed urban land reform. Her next mission was the water sector. This was the reason why Joseph was lured to take the job.

Indeed, timing was everything. When Joseph was approached, he was ready to make a change in his career to help bring about change in his much-beloved city. He welcomed the challenge of mounting a comprehensive reform program, aware that it was a complex undertaking, but also one that was long overdue. This challenge was the ‘carrot’ that made Joseph give up his lucrative job in the private sector. Driven and ambitious, he was eager to make his mark in public service.

Raised in the comfortable confines of his upper middle-class neighborhood, Joseph grew up witnessing and lamenting the city’s serious water problem. People spend long hours in long lines trailing private tankers. It is a common sight in the city. Among the poor and less fortunate, it is part of their daily grind. Joseph’s family, on the other hand, is better equipped to cope with the deteriorating water situation. Most well-off residents invest in tube wells, overhead storage tanks and water filters. Bottled drinking water is purchased on a regular basis, very much a part of the household’s weekly budget. To those who can afford, these are typical coping mechanisms that worked well in a system that simply did not work. A POLITICALLY-EXPEDIENT EXIT STRATEGY

With the public controversy surrounding the water sector reform, Minister Gilbert became politically vulnerable and succumbed to mounting pressure from senior politicians within their ruling party. Against the wishes of her technical advisers, she argued, “We cannot ignore the negative press and the public outcry. Clearly, there is gross misinterpretation of our approach and little public understanding of the reform’s benefits. But the uprising and recent pandemonium on the streets is a politically untenable situation. It would be prudent to freeze action on the reform program.” At the same time, she knew that the proposed reform is water sector’s lifeline in tackling the twin evils plaguing the distressed water authority.

In a private conversation with Minister Gilbert, Joseph and the senior management team learned that the Presidential Council of Advisors, led by Urban Development Minister Chidari, expressed strong reservations in pushing the proposed reform. The council is an influential group of policy elites, economists and social workers formed by the President as her informal think-tank group, part of her ‘inner circle’. They believe that public opposition surrounding the proposed reform will further compromise the President’s declining popularity in the recent polls. Clearly, the Advisory Council was concerned about the political and reputational costs of pushing a reform without broad public support.

‘Failure to launch!’ That’s one news headline Joseph did not anticipate when he joined the water authority to take on this assignment. Despite his self-ascribed gift of foresight, he did not predict this politically-charged scenario. Robust findings of feasibility studies confirm the water reform program’s economic, financial and technical viability. But, despite all the due diligence done on the distressed water sector, Joseph realized that they did not dot all the ‘is’ and crossed all the ‘ts’. As one trusted colleague gently reminded him. “It’s not all about the math!” Failure to manage the politics of reform was, indeed, a big lesson to take home.

Joseph remained convinced that pulling the plug on the proposed reform was not the best solution, even in the worst of circumstances. Maybe something can still be done to revive the program.

TWICE THE PAIN – A BANKRUPT AND CORRUPT WATER SECTOR

The proposed reform program is the water sector’s lifeline. It is envisioned to provide universal, continuous and safe water supply for the city and benefit from modern technology that will upgrade trunk mains, repair leaks, provide water meters, and install piped water to poor neighborhoods. It will start with 2 districts as pilot areas for a 24/7 water distribution management contract to a private operator. Currently, as much as 40 percent of water produced does not reach the public consumers because of ‘unaccounted for water’, while an estimated 70% of leakage comes from individual water connections.

Inefficiency and wastage, resulting from both leakages and illegal connections, are the main reasons for the intermittent supply and low water pressure. Currently, a large part of unconnected households live in informal settlements, and rely on public standpipes, tankers and boreholes fitted with hand pumps. More than 25 percent of residents rely on private vendors for their regular water supply. These tanker operators started out as landowners with access to underground water, and some were engaged in transport services. Overpricing in some waterless communities is common practice, a predatory behavior among so-called ‘water sharks’ who charge four to five times more than piped water. With such high demand even among those who have little choice and meager resources, the growth of water tanker vendors surged, turning it into a highly profitable industry.

The Metro Sarangaya Water Authority, in turn, provides sharp contrast. It is bankrupt. The financially-strapped parastatal with 30,000 employees needs a bail-out badly. The proverbial hole in Sarangaya’s ‘leaking bucket’ is burning a huge hole in MSWA’s pocket. Employees face the risk of losing their jobs. Cash revenues generated is only about 25 percent of water produced, well below the average of 85 percent among well-functioning water utilities. It is overstaffed, having two times more people on its payroll than the regional average. And a recent independent study revealed that “most of the operating staff are not qualified to do waterworks installation and very few had the right skills in water treatment processes”. Suffering from years of gross inefficiencies, low revenues and huge operating losses, MSWA manages to stay afloat through substantial infusion of public funds. As of last count, their balance sheet showed a spiraling debt of nearly $1.5 billion owed to the government coffers.

Corruption is embedded in the system. Among politicians and senior officials, grand corruption occurs in the selection of water and sanitation through political influence in resource allocation. They push for larger capital investments where potential kickbacks are typically much higher. Although willingness-to-pay studies may indicate that poor consumers are willing to pay for quality, piped water than the more costly supply from ‘water sharks’, politicians have strong incentives of political patronage to keep the tariff artificially low. Unwillingness to charge among politicians allows them to reap favorable support from their key constituents and the general public. In surface water projects, corrupt practices in construction of water treatment plants and procurement of chemicals, equipment and supplies result in padded costs, bribery and collusion within the water sector. In operation and maintenance, administrative corruption takes place in obtaining access to water, installing illegal connections or securing preferential treatment to get faster service in repairs or new connection. Petty corruption is prevalent and usually occurs through fraudulent billing and meter reading and overcharging of fees.

TRACING A TROUBLED TIMELINE

Joseph keeps reminding himself that the proposed reform is on hold and not cancelled. He remains cautiously optimistic and is determined to revive the program and get it back on track. How can he persuade his Minister and her network of policy advisers to reconsider their decision? Who are the key players he needs to engage? Who are their real opponents, staunch supporters, and influentials who can be won over as allies? What alternative actions can he explore?

Joseph is thinking of re-tracing their steps, and missed steps. Going through the project files, he has unpacked the sequence of events, and unbundled the process—hoping to gain fresh insights. And maybe come up with a skillfully crafted strategy to restart the stalled reform process. He has always believed in the merits of taking three steps back to move one step forward. Revisiting the project timeline, key milestones and internal communications seems like a logical place to start . . . 2000 **Policy dialogue began.** High-level government officials met with senior resident representatives of the Donor Group to discuss scope of development assistance needed to implement water sector reform. As a first step, they agreed to the conduct of technical studies which will be funded by the Global Common Fund’s project preparation facility (PPF). In December, the government submitted the formal request and the draft terms of reference for the PPF. The terms of reference defined the important elements of the task, its objectives, scope of work, key activities and tasks to be performed, respective responsibilities of the borrower and the consultant, the expected results, and deliverables from the assignment.

2001 **Evaluation sub-criteria raise a red flag.** In April, both parties signed the PPF agreement. By the end of May, the final terms of reference (TOR) were released and the short list of consultants confirmed. Within 6 months, MSW A submitted the technical proposals to the GCF Technical Secretariat. In the internal review, the evaluators questioned the sub-criteria introduced by MSWA. It raised a red flag since the sub-criteria used did not adequately reflect the requirements stipulated in the agreed TOR. After some discussion, MSWA and the GCF technical team agreed to request the short listed firms to submit fresh proposals.

2002 **Awarding of contract.** After resubmission of proposals, the winning qualified bidder was selected, funding was released and consultants were hired. The project preparation was underway. By the end of 2002, the consultants had completed the study.

2003 **Year-long debate and deliberation on options.** Far from the fast track that MSWA senior officials were hoping for. Technical specialists and relevant government officials discussed long and hard the recommended options: (1) should the government retain control of the water and sanitation assets, collect charges from installed meters, retain MSWA personnel but under private sector management? or (2) consider a concession model of awarding water provision to a private sector operator on a 20-year lease, and the government acts as the water utility regulator? It was back and forth. Finally, the decision-makers around the table agreed to pursue the No.2 option.

**Public opinion overlooked.** Other relevant studies were made available to the government review team. These included the recently released Public Opinion Poll which focused on service delivery mechanisms. The results could inform the evaluation process, particularly on prevailing public perception on public services. Internal staff reports, however, indicate that the team noted the survey findings, but did not closely consider its implications on the reform.

2004 **Reform pace gained momentum.** Thanks to the feisty and energetic Minister, and Chairman of MSWA. Minister Gilbert rattled everyone’s cage with a lot of help from her CEO. The pilot phase then took off on a speedy start. Months later, the results looked good—the overall experience positive. Wasting no time, the team got the green light to roll out the program. Fully confident about the project’s technical and financial viability, and most important, the huge unmet demand for the service, implementation swiftly expanded to the other water distribution zones in the city.

**Consultations held, but limited and behind schedule.** Following a 6-month interim period, MSWA convened a workshop to discuss a Vision Strategy for the water sector. On the same occasion, MSWA officials presented the proposed water sector reform program. The audience: mostly MSWA’s senior technical staff, some key government officials and a couple of outside speakers. Two months later, one more workshop. Same audience, this time to discuss detailed transition plans. Alan Reddy, a middle manager in charge of organization and management, found the entire process extremely frustrating. Despite his extensive experience and long tenure in MSWA, Alan along with a group of other middle managers grew apathetic about the proposed program. "It's another one of those 'reform du jour' initiatives of senior management – essentially, it's more work, and same pay for us", remarked Alan in one of their informal chats. "Yes, most definitely", was the chorus response from the other disgruntled middle managers. Besides, they resent that once again they were not consulted. Despite their wealth of knowledge and depth of experience, their contributions were barely sought in shaping the proposed reform.

Meanwhile, tossed in the back burner were plans for a broader public consultation. The communication specialists who suggested it were anxious and unsuccessful. With conflicting schedules between MSWA's key technical staff and the GCF project team, it was difficult to calendar the event. Evidently, the team's technocratic mindset revealed two divergent views that led to one and the same outcome. No broad public consultations took place. Some members of the team thought it was not necessary; others considered it time-consuming.

2005

Communication plan launched, delayed and under compressed timetable. One year and four months after the pilot launch, the GCF gave the go-signal to prepare a communication plan. The communication staff were apprehensive about the limited budget and unrealistically short-time frame. From years of experience, they know too well that building consensus and broad public support takes time and needs time. Remarked one disaffected communication team member, "There is no quick fix, nor instant mix to gain credibility, build trust and mobilize coalitions of supporters… to follow a 'just pour and stir' approach is a recipe for failure."

The labor union protests. The communication strategy's first key target audience was the MSWA Labor Union led by Isaac Sabir. Hearing of the reform for the first time, the union leaders were enraged, angered by the arrogance of senior management who chose not to inform and consult them. Their intense reaction was not surprising, but it was unsettling. In no time, emblazoned posters were plastered on walls in front of the MSWA compound and on nearby streets. The screaming slogans declared "Protect our firm from being sold to wicked foreigners!" "Down with foreign conspiracy! Together we will fight with our final breath and last drop of blood!" This confrontation immediately hit the headlines. With the help of expert mediators and Joseph's skillful approach in communicating and managing conflict, agitated union leaders were pacified. Senior management and union leaders engaged in extensive talks and amicably agreed to a set of workable actions.

2006

The potent mix of RTI, CSOs and the media. The 2005 'internal revolt' in MSWA was the prelude to a larger and louder public protest that began in early March. All it took was one legislative act and three men on a mission. An indignant member of MSWA's labor union fed the story of alleged bidding misconduct to the Citizens Action Forum (CAF), a pro-accountability movement and a strong coalition of fearless corruption-busting civil society organizations. Emboldened by Livonia's Right to Information Act (RTI), Nagar Kouzi, CAF leader and two senior associates acquired official public records on the alleged wrongdoing. They obtained copies of internal communications between the MSWA and the GCF.

The paper trail began, one public document after another. The CAF team believed they tracked solid and complete evidence and ran a well-orchestrated media blitz to stir public controversy. This time it was one damaging and misleading news coverage after another—in print, on radio, and on national TV. Their messages, clear and consistent, hammered on 3 specific accusations: (1) donors dictated the government decision on the management contract model; (2) the model proposed is a global ‘bad practice’ based on the failed experience in other countries; and (3) donors interfered and influenced the bidding process to favor an international firm.

Hurling slogans that cried “Water is sacred!” and “We demand self-governance!”, the recalcitrant activists sent wrong signals about the proposed reform by labeling it as “privatization”. This quickly spawned public fears about indiscriminate tariff hikes and foreign take-over. Across the ranks of MSWA’s worried workforce, the imminent threat of widespread job loss struck a sense of panic among its 30,000 employees.

The Citizens Action Forum also reached out and across a wide spectrum of stakeholders—politicians, opinion leaders, academics, local neighborhood associations and civil society activists—all of whom were appalled by the accusations, the lack of transparency and the absence of broad public consultation. Community-based organizations led by Arun Gopalan, dynamic leader of the Sarangaya Water Residents Association rallied behind the Citizens Action Forum. With great determination, they penetrated the decision-making chambers of policy elites in the ruling party, lobbied and influenced them through presentations made to senior politicians and policy advisers. The main strategy was to cover all the stakeholder bases, get politicians, planners and the people to listen, have their collective voices heard and their key messages to resonate.

A staged event Without missing a beat, the CAF leaders orchestrated a people’s rally, rounded up a huge crowd raising placards in front of the GCF office. They knew a senior official of donor group was in town and welcomed him warmly—with a firestorm of angry demonstrators. It was, after all, a propitious occasion, a photo opportunity to attract foreign media coverage and gain international visibility.

To MSWA’s credit, they engineered carefully measured interventions to counteract negative accusations in the media. But, on the whole, they failed to stem the tide of opposition. Its belated, hamstrung communication and media strategy was muted, muscled and outmaneuvered by the strategic media campaign of the Citizens Action Forum. They were ahead of the curve, defined the issues, framed the focus of the debate, and claimed the public space as their platform to voice out grievances and demand public action. Without a doubt, they mounted a successful strategy to capitalize on the combined force of grassroots activism from below and political pressure from above.

THE ROAD AHEAD

For sure, Joseph realized the power of public opinion and the peril of ignoring the politics of reform. He recalled his early thoughts at the first hint of NGO opposition, “This is an organized, passionately committed group that is on a ‘search and conquer’ mission. They are capable of pulling out all the stops to shape public opinion, influence policy, build coalitions and mount a belligerent, but a highly effective crusade!”. And they did successfully.

Although the reform was stalled, Joseph continues to believe that the road ahead should lead to reform. With every crisis comes opportunity. He is confident that sweeping changes in the water sector will create opportunities needed to urgently address a looming crisis. In fact, the delayed rainy season has put the city on the brink of a true emergency situation. Sarangaya could be facing its worst water crisis ever. ANNEXES

1. Socio-economic and political environment of Livonia
2. Governance and corruption statistics
3. Political economy analysis of water sector reform
4. Public Opinion Survey
5. Press articles Livonia has a population of 65 million people, a newly emerging economy that has kept pace with its fast-growing neighbors in the region. After ten years of sustained structural adjustment effort, the country is reaping the benefits of its bold macroeconomic stabilization measures. These reforms helped the economy ride out an acute financial crisis that swept the region the 1980s. Given its considerable achievements in instituting economic and structural reforms, the country’s GDP rose from -2 percent from 1980–1985 to 3.8 percent between 1986–1996. Livonia is one of the most aggressive reformers and the donor community has been an active development partner in the reform process.

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION

Apart from its impressive economic transformation, Livonia underwent a democratic transition that has dramatically changed the political landscape in the country. For nearly five generations, the country was under a powerful one-party rule, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The party consolidated its power through a populist regime buttressed on political patronage. A system of rent-sharing was kept in the hands of a ‘favored few’ while the vast majority of Livonians were ruled under an illusory ‘populist’ government that cared for their needs and protected their rights. Job security was assured for most wage earners with the public sector looked upon as the biggest employer, or employer of last resort. Discretionary use of budgetary resources facilitated the distribution of political favors. Privileged groups, mostly businesses, commit party loyalty in exchange for ‘party perks’ which include monopoly control, subsidies and state protection. The Livonian citizen, although vested with the constitutional right to vote, did not have the privilege of choice, for a very long time. Every conceivable effort was made to ensure that no other viable alternatives to the PDP emerged on the political arena.

In 1995, all these changed with the overwhelming victory of the opposition presidential candidate Serin Hermann (National Solidarity Party) which toppled PDP’s single-party rule. Internal squabbling and infighting, largely triggered by the country’s economic crisis, weakened the party’s credibility. As Livonia’s fiscal resources dried up, PDP’s spoils gradually disappeared and its political rewards dwindled. This engendered increasing dissatisfaction among its opportunistic supporters who later defected after economic incentives opened up under the opposition party’s strong macroeconomic and fiscal reform program.

Overall, Livonia’s political transition has been relatively smooth, but the legacy of a single-party hegemony left vestiges of the PDP regime that permeated its new political order. In some areas, the PDP’s traditional stronghold and its authoritarian enclaves still exist along with its old rules of the game. To date, Livonia is still working its way to consolidate progress made through a challenging transition period that continues to be confronted by socio-political obstacles. SOCIO-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT–LIVONIA’S REFORM CONTEXT

A macro level profile of Livonia’s socio-political environment provides a broad picture of the reform context which can affect the design and implementation of policy reforms. The following information gathered from various key secondary sources, empirical studies, surveys and independent reports both global and in-country describe key characteristics of Livonia’s socio-political environment.

- The current ruling party (National Solidarity Party) only holds about 40% of the congressional seats. They have formed an alliance with the former ruling party (PDP) giving them the two thirds majority and unilateral control of the legislature. However, the power of the opposition in congress is considered to have become stronger over the past year.

- In Livonia, the wealth of economic elites and the electoral clout of public sector unions, two of the strongest interest groups, wield both power and influence on politics and policies.

- The Constitution of Livonia is the basic law of the land which enshrines the citizen’s right to free expression, free association, free speech and free media.

- There is a legal framework guaranteeing the citizen’s right to vote. An election monitoring agency exists but it is not independent entity. It is part of the executive branch and reports to the President. A study on voting conditions revealed difficult access among rural inland communities or early closure of voting polls prevent people from voting.

- Article 10 of the Constitution provides citizens the right to form civil society organizations. However, reports indicate that bureaucratic red tape and complex administrative requirements are obstacles to the formation of civil society organizations, particularly the creation of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs. Nonetheless, CSOs have increased in recent years.

- State-civil society relations exist but CSO engagement in political and policymaking processes is limited. The government rarely invites their direct participation and prefers to form adhoc program-specific structures such as “citizen councils” with civil-society “representatives”.

- There is media plurality in the print media with some estimates indicating that there are 120 independently owned newspapers. In urban areas, they are more exposed to a diversity of views, although it is much less in the rural areas. The government does not restrict the use of internet. About 20 percent of the population has access.

- Although media and free speech are protected under the constitution, licensing requirements are subject to bureaucratic procedures. Forming a new media entity such as radio or TV is reported to be extremely difficult.

- Media is allowed to report on corruption, and there is no explicit government restraint on media reporting. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that corruption-related stories are prevented from mass distribution through the bulk purchase of newspapers which carry the story.

- A Right to Information Act was enacted in 1995 and implemented largely in response to pressure from civil society demanding greater participation in public decision-making. The law opened up the space for citizen participation and oversight. Citizens can obtain official public documents at a reasonable cost. Reports indicate that access to information is easier in the executive branch but in the judiciary, congress and other agencies it can sometimes take years.

- The independence of the judiciary is guaranteed in Articles 75 and 102 of the Constitution. A research study by an international human rights group revealed systematic weaknesses from reported cases of arbitrary detentions and failure to serve justice to underprivileged groups, including court decisions that were believed to have been influenced by gender bias. The Constitution mandates the creation of a **National Ombudsman** who can only be removed by Congress through formal impeachment proceedings. An independent study suggested that the ombudsman's performance has not been steadfast and consistent and on some occasions observed to be subjected to political influence. A recent case disclosed in the papers indicates that the national ombudsman has acquiesced to executive authority and demonstrated weakness in battling powerful interests.

A **Commission on Audit** is also mandated in the law. However, the agency is under-staffed and under-funded. A provision in the Oversight Law allows Congress to dismiss the Auditor if a grave offense has been committed.

The law also provided for the creation of an **Anti-corruption Agency** which is headed by an appointee of the President and has been given the rank of a Cabinet member. The President holds the discretion to remove the head of the agency without relevant justification. The agency can initiate investigations but it has to have the clearance and final approval of the President. Systematic problems exist in enforcing sanctions and punishment of wrongdoing.

The **public service delivery system** and sectoral reform efforts are constrained by political obstacles, ranging from contentious negotiations with teachers unions over pay scales and performance evaluations, resistance from unionized workers and retirees over structural changes to correct imbalances in the pension system, and small enclaves of urban water lords who have monopoly of the water tanker industry. ANNEX 2

Governance and Anti-corruption Statistics

World Bank Institute Governance Indicators

Control of corruption measures the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including petty and grand forms of corruption, as well as “capture” of the state by elites and private interests.

Rule of law measures the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, in particular the quality of contract enforcement, the police, and the courts, as well as the likelihood of crime and violence.

Regulatory quality measures the ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations that permit and promote private sector development.

Government effectiveness measures the quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and the degree of its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy form.

Voice and accountability measures the extent to which a country’s citizens are able to participate in selecting their government, as well as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and a free media.

Political stability and absence of violence measures the perceptions of the likelihood that the government will be destabilized or overthrown by unconstitutional or violent means, including domestic violence and terrorism.

Source: D. Kaufmann, A. Kraay and M. Mastruzzi, 2007: Governance Matters VI: Governance Indicators for 1996–2006. Chart is based on fictitious data used only for purposes of illustration. The Most Problematic Factors for Doing Business Global Competitiveness Report (2005)

Note: Respondents ranked from a list of 14 factors, five of the most problematic for doing business in their country. The figure above shows the responses weighted according to their rankings between 1 (most problematic) and 5 (least problematic).

The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum and its network of partner institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations). This was based on a recent poll of 11,000 business leaders in 150 countries.

The Global Competitiveness Report is based on a poll of 15,000 business executives worldwide.¹

¹ Chart is taken from the Global Competitiveness Report only for purposes of illustration. Changes have been made to adapt the case for group discussion. Political Economy Analysis Findings

The GCF Technical Secretariat commissioned a study on the political economy of the water sector in Sarangaya to gain a deeper understanding of the issues critical to the reform. It focused on the What, the Why and the How to help unravel the nature of pathologies that exist, the underlying reasons and “rules of the game” that determine economic and political interests of various key players which ultimately influence the process of public decision-making.

In summary, the political economy analysis revealed the following:

1. Despite high availability of water, Sarangaya residents suffer from unequal access and intermittent water supply. MSWA can only distribute water for 4-5 hours per day. This level of performance places them well below the water utilities that serve major cities in the region.
2. As much as 40 percent of water produced is lost, mostly due to old and leaking pipes.
3. More affluent consumers can afford to have continuous water supply, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through overhead tanks and boreholes installed at their own expense.
4. Poor households, in contrast, can only rely on private vendors and pay more for purchased water. The so-called ‘water sharks’ charge four to five times more than piped water.
5. A large number of illegal connections exist. ‘Speed money’ or bribes given to operations and maintenance personnel can expedite the installation of household connections. Only one in three connections have working meters and fraudulent billing is common practice.

Why do these pathologies persist despite significant investments to improve water supply and services provision? The political economy analysis uncovered fraudulent practices in the water sector, the prevailing ‘rules of the game’ and the underlying incentives of various stakeholders who benefit from corruption in the system. Livonia Public Opinion Survey

A public opinion survey was conducted to assess people’s perception on various issues affecting them. The survey involved interviews with key opinion leaders, including the private sector, the academic community and civil society. Focus groups were also held to monitor public views on service delivery. Key findings are:

- There is a strong belief that corruption is the country’s most serious problem.
- Many believe that bureaucratic discretion gives civil servants much leeway to exploit public resources for private gain. Corruption cases are filed against government bureaucrats but not acted upon. To avoid further scrutiny, they are relocated or reassigned.
- Routine cases of corruption are often ignored and dismissed. Grease money and fixers to expedite action are part of the system’s standard operating procedures.
- The Right to Information Act is an important piece of legislation. Better protection should be provided to whistle-blowers. Recent reports indicate that 70 percent of them have been either harassed or victimized.
- More than 75 percent of those interviewed believe that government has to address the perverse incentives that drive illegal activity and change the behavior of public service providers. Most serious problems in public service delivery include illegal water connections, teacher absenteeism, overcharging of fees and medicine among public health workers.
- Within the business community, majority complained about the bureaucratic red-tape that continues to paralyze operations of various industries. Processing of business licenses and permits is still a haven for corrupt public employees.
- Among civil society organizations, a majority complained about the hostile attitude of government and disregard for their contribution. They are always viewed with suspicion and distrust. Better communication would facilitate a more productive partnership.

The survey also provided relevant information on people’s perceptions on water supply.

- A high majority of consumers see water as a right, an entitlement that the public sector has the responsibility to provide.
- There is high dissatisfaction with the performance of water supply and sanitation services. Most have been victims of corrupt practices.
- People are willing to pay for reliable, safe and continuous water supply, even poor households. They do not want to pay the exorbitant rates of private water vendors.
- Majority of consumers fear that reforms will increase the cost of water. They believe that the private sector will exploit the situation to maximize their profits. Press articles

Sarangaya Times

PATRONAGE AT WORK IN WATER AND SANITATION

May 28, 2006

The ruling party’s municipal councilors heavily criticized the water department for its failure to cater and live up to the expectations of the people. Accusing the bureaucrats in MWSA of behaving in an “indifferent manner,” the citizens’ elected representatives were outraged at the field staff including engineers for turning a deaf ear to the needs and demands of their areas.

Despite repeated reminders to the field engineers, they do not listen to their pleas to resolve the problem in their respective areas. They do not responded to their calls even after being called up and reminded several times.

The Livonia Herald

Far from over - Is the government washing its hands?

July 3, 2006

The controversy cannot be swept under the rug. It is far from over. People continue to be outraged and are still out on the streets. They are not satisfied with the government written explanations. Is Minister Gilbert passing the buck? He has referred the matter to senior policymakers in the Ministry of Urban Development? Much time has been lost and no action has been taken.

Poor quality water has made life miserable for the residents. Failure to carry out repairs and implementation of the planned projects in many constituencies has made the situation worse. The public opinion is that the bureaucrats were not bothered about the image of the government. They continue to adopt a callous and unsympathetic attitude. Defining Bargaining and Negotiation

The general area of conflict management is concerned with the way that interdependent people manage the opposition of goals, aims, and values through communication. Communication plays an active role in shaping how people experience and work through conflict, a task that is very challenging given people's interdependence where one party can interfere with the other achieving a goal. Within the last 25 years, a great deal of attention has been given to the methods we can use to manage conflict including bargaining or negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.

Bargaining and negotiation have been defined as forms of conflict management that involve two or more parties, who have a conflict of needs and desires that choose to negotiate through a give and take process involving proposals and counterproposals to search for a mutually acceptable agreement. While some theorists and researchers distinguish between bargaining and negotiation, saying that the former is a competitive activity between parties and the latter is a cooperative process, the two terms will be used interchangeably.

Bargaining and negotiation differ from mediation and arbitration. Both mediation and arbitration emphasize the importance of an impartial third-party to help manage the conflict. Mediation utilizes a third-party neutral, called a mediator, who facilitates the two parties to talk and generate a mutually acceptable agreement, but who has no decision power. Arbitration is similar to a legal hearing where both parties present information regarding their position to a third-party neutral, an arbitrator, who then makes a decision regarding the best way to manage the conflict. Bargaining and negotiation do not rely on third parties to facilitate the process and make decisions; rather, the process and agreements are generated by the parties in conflict.

______________________________________________________________________

1 Putman, L. (2006). Definitions and approaches to conflict and communication. In J. G. Oetzel & S. Ting-Toomey (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of conflict communication, 1–32. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 2 For example, Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., & Barry, B. (2006). Negotiation, 5th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, suggests that bargaining is a competitive process whereas negotiation is a collaborative one. 3 For further discussion on the differences among negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, see Domenici, K., & Littlejohn, S. W. (2001). Mediation: Empowerment in conflict management, 2nd ed. Cresskill, NJ: Waveland Press. When to Choose Negotiation

Negotiation is a conflict strategy that allows you to meet your needs. There are certain moments and times when negotiation may actually hurt your ability to meet your needs and should be avoided. These times include:

- When you are in a situation that could cause you severe financial or personal risk.
- When your counterpart asks for something you cannot support because it’s illegal or morally and ethically inappropriate.
- When there is high time pressure. The need to move quickly may hurt your ability to think clearly and cause you to underestimate the impact of your concession.
- When your counterpart acts in bad faith. If you can’t trust their agreement, it makes little sense to follow through and negotiate.
- When you’re not prepared. A failure to think through your positions, questions, and strategies will hinder your ability to achieve a good outcome.4

Negotiation Approaches

All negotiations are similar in that they involve people taking initial positions, offering proposals to help resolve the conflict, making counter-proposals, offering concessions, and coming to agreement. However, negotiations can be distinguished according to the strategy and tactics that are used to conduct the negotiation. There are two general strategies and clusters of negotiation tactics: (1) distributive, and (2) integrative.5

**Distributive bargaining.** This type of bargaining emphasizes the importance of maximizing individual gains and minimizing losses. It adopts a “fixed” pie approach where resources are viewed as being limited and it becomes important to claim one’s rightful share of the pie. Distributive bargaining is competitive with each bargainer taking positions to achieve victory over the other side. Distributive bargainers tend to use the following kinds of strategies and tactics:

- Distributive bargainers try to keep the opposing side from gaining information about their position or “bottom-line” while trying to collect information about the resistance point of the other party.
- Distributive bargainers misrepresent and withhold information as well as make exaggerated statements about their positions in order to mislead people about their true objectives.
- Distributive bargainers may use bluffs, threats, and manipulation to reduce the options of the other party.
- Distributive bargainers use threats, putdowns, demands, and blame statements.
- Distributive bargainers develop their position by using more and more facts to build the case for the validity of their proposals.

______________________________________________________________________

4 Levinson, J. C., Smith, M. S. A., & Wilson, O. R. (1999). *Guerrilla negotiating: Unconventional weapons and tactics to get what you want.* New York: John Wiley.

5 Lewicki, Roy J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2007). *Essentials of Negotiation*, 4th ed. Boston: Irwin, McGraw-Hill. Putnam, L. L., & Poole, M. S. (1987). **Integrative bargaining.** This type of bargaining emphasizes the importance of maximizing joint gains. Rather than viewing bargaining from a win-lose perspective, integrative bargaining adopts a win-win orientation where parties try to create agreements where both can prosper. Integrative bargaining assumes that both parties share multiple overlapping issues and that the best way to deal with these multiple issues is to be flexible in one's position and to engage in cooperative problem solving. By engaging in cooperative problem solving the pie becomes expandable, as the focus becomes on developing creative solutions that expand the pie in ways that ensure both parties can get what they need. Integrative bargainers tend to use the following kinds of strategies and tactics:

- Integrative bargainers share their information openly and divulge their needs and objectives. Information disclosure is viewed as facilitating the problem-solving process as it allows bargainers to define problems, identify causes, develop solutions, and evaluate the merits of proposed solutions.
- Integrative bargainers tend to use soft rather than hard tactics. They tend to make statements that support the other party and use exploratory problem-solving messages.
- Integrative bargainers drop particular agenda items, separate issues, and recombine issues in creative ways as they move through the negotiation. This opens up the room for developing novel solutions to the problem.

**When to Use a Particular Negotiating Approach**

While we may aspire to use an integrative bargaining approach, there are times when a distributive approach may be more useful to achieve our desired outcomes. Use a distributive approach:

- When your interests and the other party’s clearly conflict.
- When the other party insists on taking a win-lose approach.
- When you do not need a long-term harmonious relationship.
- When you are powerful enough to prevail.
- When short-term goals are more important.

Use an integrative approach:

- When you and the other party have common interests.
- When the other party is willing to consider a win-win approach.
- When a continuing, harmonious relationship is important.
- When you are weaker or power is approximately equal.
- When long-term goals are more important.6

______________________________________________________________________

6 Taken from: Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. (2005). *Communicating at work: Principles and practices for business and the professions*, 163. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Principled Negotiation

The dominant model of integrative bargaining is principled negotiation. The idea of principled negotiation was developed in Roger Fisher and William Ury’s classic book, *Getting to Yes*. In this book they distinguish between what they call positional bargaining and principled negotiation. Positional bargaining occurs when people negotiate according to their positions or statements of what they want to get out of the situation. Positional bargaining is a form of distributive bargaining where both parties view the conflict as a win-lose situation. Positional bargaining can take one of two forms: (1) soft, and (2) hard.

**Soft positional bargaining** emphasizes the importance of building relationships, which may mean that the parties take a soft line toward the negotiation. This may create a win-lose outcome as they lose by giving up too much in an effort to maintain a friendly environment and good relationship. Soft positional bargaining is characterized by the following:

- Participants are friends.
- The goal is agreement.
- Make concessions to cultivate the relationship.
- Be soft on the people and the problem.
- Trust others.
- Make offers.
- Disclose your bottom line.
- Accept one-sided losses to reach agreement.
- Search for the single answer: the one they will accept.
- Insist on agreement.
- Try to avoid a contest of will.
- Yield to pressure.7

**Hard positional bargaining** emphasizes the importance of getting what you want by playing hard-ball and being tough on the other person during a negotiation. Hard positional bargaining is characterized by the following characteristics:

- Participants are adversaries.
- The goal is victory.
- Demand concessions as a condition of the relationship.
- Be hard on the problem and the people.
- Distrust others.
- Dig in to your position.
- Make threats.
- Mislead as to your bottom line.

______________________________________________________________________

7 Taken from Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). *Getting to yes*, 2nd ed., 9. New York: Penguin. • Demand one-sided gains as the price of agreement. • Search for the single answer: the one you will accept. • Insist on your position. • Try to win a contest of will. • Apply pressure.8

Principled negotiation is based on the notion that we need to negotiate on the merits of the case. We need to find ways to work together in order to ensure that wise choices are made that benefit everyone. Principled negotiation operates from four simple rules:

• Separate the person from the problem. It is possible to be soft on the people you are working with and hard on the problem. One can simultaneously act in ways that are respectful of the other and treat the other person well but work hard at addressing the substantive issues that are informing the conflict.

• Focus on interests, not positions. Creative resolutions can be achieved by focusing on the party’s mutually shared interests. Positions are the statements of what someone wants or needs from a situation while the interest is the underlying reason or motivation for the position. For example, an individual in a social service organization may take a position of wanting to stamp out corruption because their interest is in making sure the resources the organization has are totally used to benefit the client.

• Invent options for mutual gain. It is important to generate multiple options that may meet both parties’ interests. Techniques such as brainstorming can be used to generate multiple options from which a resolution can be created later.

• Insist on using objective criteria. Principled negotiation emphasizes the importance of selecting objective criteria for selecting among competing alternatives. Rather than make negotiations a contest of the will, by creating objective criteria people can be open to reason and yield to principle, not pressure.

8 Taken from Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). Getting to yes, 2nd ed., 9. New York: Penguin. Defining Bargaining and Negotiation

The general area of conflict management is concerned with the way that interdependent people manage the opposition of goals, aims, and values through communication. Communication plays an active role in shaping how people experience and work through conflict, a task that is very challenging given people's interdependence where one party can interfere with the other achieving a goal. Within the last 25 years, a great deal of attention has been given to the methods we can use to manage conflict including bargaining or negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.

Bargaining and negotiation have been defined as forms of conflict management that involve two or more parties, who have a conflict of needs and desires that choose to negotiate through a give and take process involving proposals and counterproposals to search for a mutually acceptable agreement. While some theorists and researchers distinguish between bargaining and negotiation, saying that the former is a competitive activity between parties and the latter is a cooperative process, the two terms will be used interchangeably.

Bargaining and negotiation differ from mediation and arbitration. Both mediation and arbitration emphasize the importance of an impartial third-party to help manage the conflict. Mediation utilizes a third-party neutral, called a mediator, who facilitates the two parties to talk and generate a mutually acceptable agreement, but who has no decision power. Arbitration is similar to a legal hearing where both parties present information regarding their position to a third-party neutral, an arbitrator, who then makes a decision regarding the best way to manage the conflict. Bargaining and negotiation do not rely on third parties to facilitate the process and make decisions; rather, the process and agreements are generated by the parties in conflict.

1 Putman, L. (2006). Definitions and approaches to conflict and communication. In J. G. Oetzel & S. Ting-Toomey (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of conflict communication, 1–32. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 2 For example, Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., & Barry, B. (2006). Negotiation, 5th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, suggests that bargaining is a competitive process whereas negotiation is a collaborative one. 3 For further discussion on the differences among negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, see Domenici, K., & Littlejohn, S. W. (2001). Mediation: Empowerment in conflict management, 2nd ed. Cresskill, NJ: Waveland Press. When to Choose Negotiation

Negotiation is a conflict strategy that allows you to meet your needs. There are certain moments and times when negotiation may actually hurt your ability to meet your needs and should be avoided. These times include:

- When you are in a situation that could cause you severe financial or personal risk.
- When your counterpart asks for something you cannot support because it’s illegal or morally and ethically inappropriate.
- When there is high time pressure. The need to move quickly may hurt your ability to think clearly and cause you to underestimate the impact of your concession.
- When your counterpart acts in bad faith. If you can’t trust their agreement, it makes little sense to follow through and negotiate.
- When you’re not prepared. A failure to think through your positions, questions, and strategies will hinder your ability to achieve a good outcome.4

Negotiation Approaches

All negotiations are similar in that they involve people taking initial positions, offering proposals to help resolve the conflict, making counter-proposals, offering concessions, and coming to agreement. However, negotiations can be distinguished according to the strategy and tactics that are used to conduct the negotiation. There are two general strategies and clusters of negotiation tactics: (1) distributive, and (2) integrative.5

Distributive bargaining. This type of bargaining emphasizes the importance of maximizing individual gains and minimizing losses. It adopts a “fixed” pie approach where resources are viewed as being limited and it becomes important to claim one’s rightful share of the pie. Distributive bargaining is competitive with each bargainer taking positions to achieve victory over the other side. Distributive bargainers tend to use the following kinds of strategies and tactics:

- Distributive bargainers try to keep the opposing side from gaining information about their position or “bottom-line” while trying to collect information about the resistance point of the other party.
- Distributive bargainers misrepresent and withhold information as well as make exaggerated statements about their positions in order to mislead people about their true objectives.
- Distributive bargainers may use bluffs, threats, and manipulation to reduce the options of the other party.
- Distributive bargainers use threats, putdowns, demands, and blame statements.
- Distributive bargainers develop their position by using more and more facts to build the case for the validity of their proposals.

4 Levinson, J. C., Smith, M. S. A., & Wilson, O. R. (1999). Guerilla negotiating: Unconventional weapons and tactics to get what you want. New York: John Wiley.

5 Lewicki, Roy J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2007). Essentials of Negotiation, 4th ed. Boston: Irwin, McGraw-Hill. Putnam, L. L., & Poole, M. S. (1987). **Integrative bargaining.** This type of bargaining emphasizes the importance of maximizing joint gains. Rather than viewing bargaining from a win-lose perspective, integrative bargaining adopts a win-win orientation where parties try to create agreements where both can prosper. Integrative bargaining assumes that both parties share multiple overlapping issues and that the best way to deal with these multiple issues is to be flexible in one’s position and to engage in cooperative problem solving. By engaging in cooperative problem solving the pie becomes expandable, as the focus becomes on developing creative solutions that expand the pie in ways that ensure both parties can get what they need. Integrative bargainers tend to use the following kinds of strategies and tactics:

- Integrative bargainers share their information openly and divulge their needs and objectives. Information disclosure is viewed as facilitating the problem-solving process as it allows bargainers to define problems, identify causes, develop solutions, and evaluate the merits of proposed solutions.
- Integrative bargainers tend to use soft rather than hard tactics. They tend to make statements that support the other party and use exploratory problem-solving messages.
- Integrative bargainers drop particular agenda items, separate issues, and recombine issues in creative ways as they move through the negotiation. This opens up the room for developing novel solutions to the problem.

**When to Use a Particular Negotiating Approach**

While we may aspire to use an integrative bargaining approach, there are times when a distributive approach may be more useful to achieve our desired outcomes. Use a distributive approach:

- When your interests and the other party’s clearly conflict.
- When the other party insists on taking a win-lose approach.
- When you do not need a long-term harmonious relationship.
- When you are powerful enough to prevail.
- When short-term goals are more important.

Use an integrative approach:

- When you and the other party have common interests.
- When the other party is willing to consider a win-win approach.
- When a continuing, harmonious relationship is important.
- When you are weaker or power is approximately equal.
- When long-term goals are more important.6

______________________________________________________________________

6 Taken from: Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. (2005). *Communicating at work: Principles and practices for business and the professions*, 163. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Principled Negotiation

The dominant model of integrative bargaining is principled negotiation. The idea of principled negotiation was developed in Roger Fisher and William Ury’s classic book, *Getting to Yes*. In this book they distinguish between what they call positional bargaining and principled negotiation. Positional bargaining occurs when people negotiate according to their positions or statements of what they want to get out of the situation. Positional bargaining is a form of distributive bargaining where both parties view the conflict as a win-lose situation. Positional bargaining can take one of two forms: (1) soft, and (2) hard.

**Soft positional bargaining** emphasizes the importance of building relationships, which may mean that the parties take a soft line toward the negotiation. This may create a win-lose outcome as they lose by giving up too much in an effort to maintain a friendly environment and good relationship. Soft positional bargaining is characterized by the following:

- Participants are friends.
- The goal is agreement.
- Make concessions to cultivate the relationship.
- Be soft on the people and the problem.
- Trust others.
- Make offers.
- Disclose your bottom line.
- Accept one-sided losses to reach agreement.
- Search for the single answer: the one they will accept.
- Insist on agreement.
- Try to avoid a contest of will.
- Yield to pressure.7

**Hard positional bargaining** emphasizes the importance of getting what you want by playing hard-ball and being tough on the other person during a negotiation. Hard positional bargaining is characterized by the following characteristics:

- Participants are adversaries.
- The goal is victory.
- Demand concessions as a condition of the relationship.
- Be hard on the problem and the people.
- Distrust others.
- Dig in to your position.
- Make threats.
- Mislead as to your bottom line.

______________________________________________________________________

7 Taken from Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). *Getting to yes*, 2nd ed., 9. New York: Penguin. • Demand one-sided gains as the price of agreement. • Search for the single answer: the one you will accept. • Insist on your position. • Try to win a contest of will. • Apply pressure.8

Principled negotiation is based on the notion that we need to negotiate on the merits of the case. We need to find ways to work together in order to ensure that wise choices are made that benefit everyone. Principled negotiation operates from four simple rules:

• Separate the person from the problem. It is possible to be soft on the people you are working with and hard on the problem. One can simultaneously act in ways that are respectful of the other and treat the other person well but work hard at addressing the substantive issues that are informing the conflict.

• Focus on interests, not positions. Creative resolutions can be achieved by focusing on the party’s mutually shared interests. Positions are the statements of what someone wants or needs from a situation while the interest is the underlying reason or motivation for the position. For example, an individual in a social service organization may take a position of wanting to stamp out corruption because their interest is in making sure the resources the organization has are totally used to benefit the client.

• Invent options for mutual gain. It is important to generate multiple options that may meet both parties’ interests. Techniques such as brainstorming can be used to generate multiple options from which a resolution can be created later.

• Insist on using objective criteria. Principled negotiation emphasizes the importance of selecting objective criteria for selecting among competing alternatives. Rather than make negotiations a contest of the will, by creating objective criteria people can be open to reason and yield to principle, not pressure.

8 Taken from Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). Getting to yes, 2nd ed., 9. New York: Penguin. SESSION 9

S9-ANI

CommGAP Towards A New Agora Innovative Solutions for Governance

S9-AN2

...issues of social and political economy and client engagement... This resource guide is designed to provide additional information about theory and research in bargaining and negotiation. Each section in the resource guide parallels the Bargaining and Negotiation Participant Guide by initially highlighting relevant resources for negotiation in general, distributive and integrative bargaining approaches, and principled negotiation. A special section on mediation has also been added as many times courses on negotiation compare and contrast negotiation with mediation. Within each section, written materials are presented that may offer more in depth coverage of important concepts and models. A list of useful web resources contains URLs to websites that provide access to material that may be useful in a training and research context.

**General Issues in Conflict Management**

**ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES**

- Cloke, K., & Goldsmith, J. (2000). *Resolving personal and organizational conflict*. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
- Folger, J.P., Poole, M.S., & Stutman, R.K. (2001). *Working through conflict*. New York: Longman.
- Kolb, D.M. & Bartunek, J.M. (Eds.). (1992). *Hidden conflict in organizations: Uncovering behind-the-scenes disputes*. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Oetzel, J.G., & Ting-Toomey, S. (2006). *The SAGE handbook of conflict communication*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Ting-Toomey, S., & Oetzel, J.G. (2001). *Managing intercultural conflict effectively*. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

**USEFUL WEB RESOURCES**

- [http://www.beyondintractability.org](http://www.beyondintractability.org) — This website provides a wealth of resources including essays, recorded interviews, and case studies on the ways that constructive approaches can be used to transform destructive conflict. Links to on-line resources for creating conflict management curriculum are also provided.
- [http://www.kettering.org/](http://www.kettering.org/) — The Kettering Foundation has a major focus on the relationship between conflict management and deliberative democracy. Resources for managing conflict through sustained dialogue and track two diplomacy are provided.
- [http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/conflict.htm](http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/conflict.htm) — This comprehensive website provides over a hundred links to material on conflict theory and case materials. Particularly noteworthy are its links to conflict centers outside of the United States and journals that publish essays on conflict management. General Issues in Mediation

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Bush, R.A. B., & Folger, J.P. (2004). *The promise of mediation* (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
- Domenici, K., & Littlejohn, S.W. (2001). *Mediation: Empowerment in conflict management* (2nd ed.). Cresskill, NJ: Waveland Press.
- Donohue, W.A. (1991) *Mediator-intervening strategies, Ch. 6*. Communication, marital dispute, and divorce mediation (pp. 135–160). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Moore, C. (1986). How mediation works. In C. Moore (Ed.), *The mediation process: Practical strategies for resolving conflict* (pp. 13–43). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
- Putnam, L.L. (1994). Beyond third party role: Disputes and managerial intervention. *Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal*, 7, 23–36.
- Putnam, L.L., & Holmer, M. (1992). Framing, reframing, and issue development. In L. Putnam & M.E. Roloff (Eds.), *Communication and negotiation* (pp. 128–155). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- [http://www.cpradr.org/pdfs/Drucker_USPS_and_Transformative.pdf](http://www.cpradr.org/pdfs/Drucker_USPS_and_Transformative.pdf) — This is an essay that describes how the United States Postal Service implemented a transformative mediation program called REDRESS to manage employee concerns.
- [www.mediate.com](http://www.mediate.com) — This website provides a variety of articles regarding practical issues associated with conducting mediation.
- [http://www.niacr.org/](http://www.niacr.org/) — The National Institute for Advanced Conflict Resolution is aimed at developing the capacities of mediators. A variety of practical articles on conducting mediation as well as several useful links to other conflict resolution and mediation programs are provided.

General Issues in Bargaining and Negotiation

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Fisher, R., & Shapiro, D. (2006). *Beyond reason: Using emotions as you negotiate*. New York: Penguin.
- Friedman, R.A. (1995). *Front stage, backstage: The dramatic structure of labor negotiations*. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- *Harvard essentials guide to negotiation*. (2003). Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
- Lewicki, R.J., Saunders, D.M., & Barry, B. (2006). *Negotiation* (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
- Lewicki, Roy J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D.M. (2007). *Essentials of negotiation* (4th ed.). Boston: Irwin, McGraw-Hill.

*NOTE: Both books by Lewicki as well as the Harvard Essentials Guide to Negotiation contain separate sections on distributive and integrative bargaining.* USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- www.law.stanford.edu/program/centers/SCICN/ — The Stanford Centre on International Conflict and Negotiation provides a variety of essays and interactive case studies regarding negotiation.
- http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Sloan-School-of-Management/15-665BPower-and-NegotiationFall2002/CourseHome/index.htm — This website contains an online negotiation course offered by MIT in Fall 2002. A syllabus, lecture notes, readings, and other resources are provided.
- http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/CNCR/ — The Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (Rutgers University) focuses on creating collaboration among public stakeholders. Publications and additional links are provided.
- http://www.virginia.edu/ien/ — The institute for Environmental Negotiation focuses on environmental issues such as land planning, watershed issues, and transportation planning. Case studies regarding how these issues can be managed are provided.

Principled Negotiation

ADDITIONAL TEXTUAL RESOURCES

- Berger, K.P., (2006). Private dispute resolution in international business: negotiation, mediation, arbitration. Fredericks, MD: Aspen Publishers.
- Fiadjoe. (2004). Alternative dispute resolution: A developing world perspective. London: Routledge/Cavendish.
- Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1981). Getting to yes (2nd ed.). New York: Penguin.
- Lewicki, R.J., & Hiam, A. (2006). Mastering business negotiation: A working guide to making deals and resolving conflict. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Stone, D., Patton, B., & Heen, S. (2000). Difficult conversations. New York: Penguin.

USEFUL WEB RESOURCES

- www.pon.harvard.edu — The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is the most comprehensive site on principled negotiation. Multiple case studies, course syllabi, and other materials are made available through their clearinghouse.

Relevant Journals Focusing on Conflict Management and Negotiation

- Conflict Resolution Quarterly
- International Journal of Conflict Management
- Negotiation Journal
- Research on Negotiation in Organizations CommGAP (n.d.) Negotiation.\
  http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/Negotiationweb.pdf

**VIDEOS**

Negotiating Difference, World Bank, 2008. *Running time: 43:43 minutes*\
This video is online learning tool that can help users improve their effectiveness in skillfully handling difficult multi-stakeholder dialogue where multi-party interests lead to entrenched bargaining positions. Users will learn about the strategic compass and the seven elements framework of negotiation and apply the techniques of using skilled inquiry, the ladder of inference, and options generation to help explore acceptable alternatives of mutual gain, a process that can ultimately lead to a durable multi-party agreement. A video case study on a fictional water reform project, which involves managing multi-stakeholder relationships, and provides the reform context where users can engage in an interactive, practical application of the tools presented.\
http://web.worldbank.org/WEBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTDEVCOMMENG/EXTGOVACC/0,,contentMDK:22480339~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:3252001,00.html

Negotiation, Graphical Animation, CommGAP, Produced by the World Bank Institute, 2010. *Running time: 2:18 minutes*\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FeM6kp9Q80 Module IV

Sustaining Change

This module highlights the importance of building communication capacity to ensure that positive results from reform efforts are not negated reversed by any counter-reform moves. Vigilant monitoring of activities and outcomes is necessary to ensure the traction of achieved outcomes. Two-way communication flows among the government, public institutions and citizens is necessary to sustain productive engagement and strengthen citizen voice in holding governments and leaders accountable. The Philippines experience in implementing a procurement reform law shows how communication challenges in reform implementation case was addressed through a two-fold strategy focusing on both internal and external communication. SUSTAINING REFORM/ COUNTER-REFORM NEVER SLEEPS

This session advocates for vigilance over the regressive forces that act against reform, as counter-reform never sleeps. The case of the Philippine Procurement Reform identifies the challenges that reform teams face in implementing long-term change interventions.

Key Concepts and Messages

• Sustaining reform will always be a “work in progress,” as vested interests push for counter-reform measures. • Keeping the issue alive among multiple stakeholder groups will help reform teams achieve progress despite counter-reform efforts. • Enhancing communication capacity among reform-minded multi-stakeholder groups will enable reformers to address emerging issues and proactively involve their supporters in fighting the fight in real time.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, participants will be able to: • Appreciate the challenge of sustaining reform, • Become aware of the need to monitor the changing institutional context and the evolving stakeholder preferences for reform, • Recognize that coalitions will be transformed over time, as the original goals are achieved and new challenges emerge which may require a more polycentric coalition for achieving various goals. **Session Length:** 60 minutes

______________________________________________________________________

**Teaching Notes and Process Guide**

| Content and Process | Presentation Slides and Process Cues | |---------------------|--------------------------------------|

______________________________________________________________________

*This will be the same, in all session manuscripts, after the slides. / but ONLY in the e-Book of course* SUSTAINING REFORM

TIME ALLOTTED: 45 MINUTES

PURPOSE Identify communication tools and techniques that can help reform teams gain a better understanding of stakeholder interests, as well as the institutional context and socio-political environment that may influence sustainability of the reform.

PROCESS

1. Ask participants to work in small groups at their tables and discuss the various communication tools and techniques that they will need to understand the stakeholder interests and the changing socio-political environment that may affect effective and full implementation of the Philippine Procurement law.

2. Provide the following instructions for the exercise:

“You are members of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) reform team, faced with the task of supervising the work of a communication team that will design, implement, monitor and evaluate a communication intervention to promote the full implementation of the Philippine Procurement law. Two critical stakeholder groups need to be reached: a) the procurement officers in government, both at the national and local levels, and b) members of civil society organizations who can be motivated to volunteer as observers in Bids and Awards Committees.”

TASK: Brief the communication team on the various tools and techniques that they should use to design the communication intervention, and the sequence in which these tools can be used.

3. Debrief in plenary.

Facilitator Instructions In small groups ask the participants, at their tables to discuss the various communication tools and techniques described in the course, and reach agreement on which of these tools they will ask the communication team to use, and the order in which these will be employed.

Allow 15 to 20 minutes of discussion as separate groups, and then conduct a plenary discussion for about 15 minutes comparing the outcomes among the various groups. Facilitator Notes for the Debrief

The task for the group is limited to the design of the communication intervention. Therefore tools for message development and concept testing, and for monitoring and evaluation have been excluded.

- First, there is a need to understand the political economy issues and the institutional context that might influence the willingness and ability of these stakeholder groups to change knowledge, attitudes and behavior in ways that support the successful implementation of the law. In situations where a formal political economy analysis cannot be undertaken, the journalistic inquiry method will provide timely information about the political, social, cultural aspects relevant to the reform.

- Second, a stakeholder mapping exercise will identify whether stakeholders will support, oppose, or are neutral with regards the desired behavior change. For example, procurement officers at the national level may be more supportive of the new procedures than procurement officers in local government offices, because they have been more exposed to messages from their Department Minister, the media and CSOs citing the value of the new procurement law. Members of civil society organizations, who are already working on anti-corruption projects, may be more supportive than those CSO members unfamiliar with governance and anti-corruption projects.

- Third, use the Five Communication Management Decisions tool to help the communication team systematically make relevant decisions about (1) which stakeholder groups need to be reached, (2) the current versus desired behaviors for each of these stakeholder segments, (3) what take-away messages need to be promoted to each segment, (4) what supporting data will be needed to persuade these stakeholders that the benefits of changing attitudes and behaviors outweigh the attendant “costs”, (5) what channels of communication are credible and will have geographic reach, and (6) what evaluation indicators will help assess whether knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors are changing in ways that contribute to the success of the reform. Brautigam, Deborah (International Development Program, School of International Service, American University) with Diolle, Tania (University of Mauritius), (2009). Coalitions, Capitalists, and Credibility: Overcoming the Crisis of Confidence at Independence in Mauritius. Published by the Leaders, Elites and Coalitions Research Programme.

Garcia, Helen R. and Verzosa, Cecilia Cabanero. (2009). Building Effective Pro-Reform Coalitions – Public Procurement in the Philippines. Electronically published in the World Bank knowledge and learning platform of the Governance and Accountability Program. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/BCRweb.pdf

Humphreys, Macartan (2008). Coalitions. Annual Review of Political Science, 11: 351–386.

Johnson, Michael and Kpundeh, Sahr (2002). Building a Clean Machine: Anti-Corruption Coalitions and Sustainable Development. Washington DC: World Bank Institute.

Verzosa, C., Mobilizing Middle Managers While Keeping Opponents at Bay: Implementing the Philippine Procurement Law. In S. Odugbemi & T. Jacobson (eds.), Governance reform under real-world conditions. Citizens, stakeholders, and voice (pp. 431–448). Washington DC: World Bank Group.

TECHNICAL BRIEFS

CommGAP (n.d.) Negotiation. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/Negotiationweb.pdf

VIDEOS

Anthonia Ekpa, Bureau of Public Service Reform, Nigeria, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenge’, 2007, Running time: 2:43 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMaB3-vVYDs&feature=autoplay&list=ULFvPipaLq60o&lf=mfu_in_order&playnext=1

David Apter, Yale University, CommGAP Global Dialogue, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenge’, 2007, Running time: 4:45 minutes

Rey Anthony David Jr, Great Wall Advertising, ‘Governance Reform under Real-World Conditions: a Dialogue on Communication Challenge’, 2007, Running time: 4:37 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOVwrXlqAUY

Negotiating Difference, World Bank, 2008, Running time: 43:43 minutes This video is an online tool which can help users improve their effectiveness in skillfully handling difficult multi-stakeholder dialogue where multi-party interests lead to entrenched bargaining positions. Users will learn about the strategic compass and the seven elements framework of negotiation and apply the techniques of using skilled inquiry, the ladder of inference, and options generation to help explore acceptable alternatives of mutual gain, a process that can ultimately lead to a durable multi-party agreement. A video case study on a fictional water reform which involves managing multi-stakeholder relationships provides the reform context where users can engage in an interactive, practical application of the tools presented.

http://web.worldbank.org/WEBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTDEVCOMMENG/EXTGOVACC/0,contentMDK:22480339--pagePK:64168445--piPK:64168309--theSitePK:3252001,00.html Case Summary 1

Bangladesh Sanglap “We Didn’t Know People Like Me Could Ask Questions Like this” A Dialogue in Bangladesh

CONTEXT

The political turmoil in the summer of 2005 threatened the impressive economic gains and social achievements in Bangladesh from the previous 10 years. The economy had enjoyed annual growth rates at 6 percent. About 1 percent of its 140 million people were lifted out of absolute poverty every year. Infant and child mortality had declined and primary school enrolment was improved. But in 2005 Parliament had ceased to function; and the main opposition party, the Awami League refused to accept the 2001 election results. Their boycott, coupled with the speaker’s management of parliamentary business, was starting to prevent the development of formal accountability systems.

CHALLENGES

Results from the audience research conducted by the BBC World Service Trust revealed that people saw the “culture of blame” as the biggest impediment to meaningful political dialogue. The people’s interest in politics was strong. They wanted better access to politicians, and the poor believed they had no access at all. Media appearances of politicians often resulted in apportioning blame, rather than any productive debate with their political opponents. The research further showed that politicians did not communicate clearly and tended to speak in a language that was understood by few. The BBC World Service Trust saw this as an opportunity to open the space for public debate of issues that were important to people.

1 Source: Prosser, D. (2008), “We Didn’t Know People Like Me Could Ask Questions Like this”: A Dialogue in Bangladesh, in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington DC APPRAOCH

Building from BBC’s long-term relationship with the people of Bangladesh, the BBC developed the Bangladesh Sanglap, as a “national conversation” about the country’s future. The goal was to, “encourage and facilitate a change in the country’s political culture, promoting a culture of responsiveness and accountability among political representatives and providing access to information on, and discussion of, governance issues.” The BBC World Service Trust planned to do this by “creating a forum which allowed people to access and interact with policy and decision makers on important issues of the day.”

The Bangladesh Sanglap began in November 2005 with eight issue-based discussions from Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chittagong. The launch was reinforced by a national opinion poll conducted by the BBC World Service Trust—“The Pulse of Bangladesh,” the first of its kind—that revealed that trust in government officials was lower than that in religious leaders, intellectuals and even the army. Unemployment, food prices and transport were considered the biggest problems facing the country, ranking well above corruption in the list of people’s daily concerns.

There was unprecedented attention surrounding the first Sanglap debate on justice. Despite the ongoing parliamentary boycott, frequent strikes, and blockades, the law minister from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party government sat on the panel alongside his Awami League opposition counterpart. The program was broadcast live on radio and two days later live on television. More than 3,000 people attended the first series of debates in Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chittagong on justice, corruption, education, health, local government, trade, security, and the institutions of state.

Public reaction to the dialogue was positive. The research suggested that people believed they had been given a platform to challenge government in a way that they had never before experienced. Of those surveyed, 92 percent believed that the programs helped raise the “voice of the people,” especially those from deprived backgrounds, and 78 percent thought the programs helped to ensure transparency and accountability.

A follow-up debate aired on the BBC’s international news channel, BBC World, entitled Can Democracy Deliver? The same political leaders realized that in this globalized, interconnected world, some in the international community were taking an interest in the future of their country. Newspaper editorials at the time dwelt on how the global audience viewed the performance of their politicians.

The second series of debates came on the heels of the 2007 national elections. To provide maximum flexibility for the discussion topics, the BBC adopted an “Any Questions?” style format, similar to the UK program where any member of the audience could pose questions on any issue of concern. The program continued to attract press coverage and high-caliber panelists from the two opposing parties participated, as well as leaders from the business community and civil society organizations. Political turmoil and violent protest leading up to the 2007 elections resulted in the takeover of a caretaker government which assured free and fair elections in 2008. In the process, the Sanglap program’s flexible format provided a platform for public discussion on relevant issues arising from evolving political events.

RESULTS

The public discourse arising from the Sanglap program, supported by broad media reporting, called attention to issues of public concern and prompted officials to take positive action. For example, at a Dhaka Sanglap in March 2007, panelists and audience members condemned as “inhumane” the government’s heavy-handed eviction of street hawkers from the city’s streets without any thought as to how they might subsequently make a living. “I am talking about my village people who work as day laborers,” said one audience member. “They earn a scant amount of money by being a hawker. But after this eviction, their families are living a life almost without food.” Following the program, the street clean-up was put on hold, with no further reports of evictions; and the authorities established 25 new markets in which the hawkers could operate. On another occasion, new emergency restrictions limiting a defendant’s right to bail were criticized at a Sanglap to be a “violation of human rights.” The strong feeling was echoed in the press. Within days, the order was amended and 482 people were released from jail.

The program’s impact has been noted in the following areas:

1. Increase in political transparency and accountability resulting in:

   - Culture of discussion between politicians and the electorate,
   - Mass awareness of political issues, the rights of the public, and the commitments by political Leaders,
   - A neutral platform for public opinion,
   - An emphasis on the people’s right to transparency.

2. Improved professionalism within the media in producing high-quality debates and programming on governance issues

3. Increased recognition by media houses of the commercial viability of programming that promotes a culture of accountability and opens public debate.

4. Sensitized political leaders on the media’s legitimate role in questioning public authorities. Mafuz Anam, editor of the Daily Star, commented that “politicians realize they will have to submit to the higher power of public will.”

The Bangladesh Sanglap program offers some key lessons learned:

1. Understand that the platform must be neutral.
2. Know that lively debate is not enough. It must be constructive.
3. Use authentic language.
4. Invest in audience recruitment.
5. Invest in audience research. Case Summary 2

Building Support for the Rule of Law in Georgia

CONTEXT

The judicial system in Georgia was beset with many problems that needed addressing. Judicial decisions were weak and often politicized. The Politburo played a highly influential role as their endorsement was considered more important than a credible case or a good defense. Systemic corruption ran rampant and entrenched interests owned the system. The judiciary suffered from negative image and lack of public trust.

In 1997, the government of Georgia mounted a comprehensive judicial reform process. The government sought World Bank assistance which came in the form of a Judicial Assessment, a detailed study of the state of the country’s judiciary; and an operational project geared toward improving court administration, judicial training, rehabilitation of infrastructure and communication. A communication needs-assessment and opinion survey were carried out to identify the most important communication challenges.

CHALLENGES

The survey results revealed a high degree of public mistrust of the legal and judicial system. A large majority of the population viewed the courts and law enforcement agencies as highly corrupt institutions, and that only those with money could achieve justice.

At the same time, a majority of Georgians still believed in the importance of the rule of law as the basis for its democratic society and market economy.

The media-content analysis, on the other hand, confirmed the low level of legal knowledge among most reporters, and that they also possessed a limited understanding of the media’s role in educating the public about the judiciary and citizens’ rights. News coverage of the judiciary revolved around personality issues and scandals rather than on issues of public concern.

Similarly, research results showed the need for the judiciary to listen regularly to public opinion in order to be more responsive to the needs of its citizens.

APPROACH

The opinion research stressed the importance of communication in the reform implementation process. In designing the communication strategy, a number of questions emerged concerning: (1) size and scope of the intervention, (2) need for international technical assistance, (3) potential impact, (4) sustainability of the program, (5) risks involved, and (6) evaluation indicators.

After a careful assessment, the project team arrived at the following operational decisions: (1) Pursue a comprehensive program, with substantial funding support to effectively tackle the problems on various fronts, (2) Secure technical advice from international consultants, including a training component to support skills training of the local team, (3) Broaden the scope of the communication effort beyond a simple campaign for the judiciary to include work that will stimulate public interest and engagement, (4) Engage a neutral entity or non-aligned group with credibility that would serve as the ‘messenger’ of the communication effort.

Source: Bassat, J. (2008), ‘Building Support for the Rule of Law in Georgia’, in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington DC. instead of the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Court, (5) Incorporate communication capacity-building as an important component for ensuring the sustainable implementation of programs, and (6) Utilize evaluation indicators to focus on the institutionalization of the communication approach, the results of capacity building activities, increasing levels of public understanding and trust, and media monitoring and coverage of the courts.

RESULTS

A coalition of active and credible NGOs was formed in response to the need for a neutral entity to implement the communication program. Several NGOs joined forces in creating a new entity - the Association for Legal Public Education (ALPE), comprising of four NGO groups: Georgian Young Lawyers Association, the Open Society Institute Georgia, Liberty Institute and the Judicial Training Center.

An ambitious capacity-building program spearheaded the communication implementation activities. This was later followed by initiatives using the mass media. First, ALPE partnered with one of the leading national newspapers, Kviris Palitra (Weekly Palette) to create what became the first ever newspaper section dedicated to addressing legal issues in any print media. With a focus on how the average citizen could exercise his or her rights, the legal supplement was an immediate success. Second, ALPE produced TV programs such as Court TV, which portrayed what a defendant in Georgia could expect to experience when in a courtroom. A second TV series, In Search of Justice was produced together with CourierPS, a well-regarded current affairs TV program, which featured real stories of how Georgian justice was meted out to people who wound up in court.

The program also involved mobilizing youth groups and bringing them in touch with the courts and the parliament. The education establishment welcomed this as a great opportunity to instill a sense of civic responsibility among students.

ALPE also launched a public relations campaign, including a monthly newsletter on reform progress. This was circulated among key decision makers, including parliamentarians, government officials, and judges.

One of the most challenging tasks for ALPE was helping the judiciary to become a more open and transparent institution. ALPE established and trained a network of court clerks responsible for information and customer service. A small group of judges identified as “spokespersons” for the judiciary, along with the Supreme Court’s public relations teams, were trained in communication and media relations to help them better articulate the views of their institutions to both internal and external audiences. Efforts to promote openness in the institution, however, had little impact. Further attempts to increase transparency were not pursued.

To strengthen the media’s capacity to report on legal and judicial issues, the project conducted several workshops for reporters covering the courts. The course on legal and judicial reporting developed by ALPE provided a platform for training future journalists. However, this aspect was the least successful as many problems remain in the area of media-strengthening; such as continued preference among most editors and readers for sensational unqualified stories, failure to attract talented young professionals because of low salaries for journalists, which led many to take bribes.

While the overall outcome in implementing judicial reform showed mixed results, the operational impact of the program to increase public awareness of judicial processes and institutions, citizens’ rights and privileges and the need for accountable governance, it still demonstrates the meaningful role that communication can play even in difficult reform efforts. Case Summary 3

India Public Enterprise Reform in West Bengal and Orissa States

CONTEXT Poorly functioning public enterprises in West Bengal and Orissa have contributed to major budget deficits and created a major drain on the economic resources of both states. In West Bengal, the government had to borrow in order to finance payments for salaries, pension and debt-servicing commitments. Orissa, one of the India’s poorer states, faced a similar situation of a rising debt burden and huge financial losses incurred by most of its state-owned enterprises (SOE).

Public enterprises fail as a result of systemic problems such as institutional failings, operational inefficiencies, and poor entrepreneurial and business management skills among SOE managers, many of whom were appointed only because of their political connections. Overstaffing, mismanagement, political pressures and interference from trade unions characterize many financially troubled SOEs. Reform efforts to correct deficiencies in these loss-making enterprises, however, are politically contentious and face resistance from special interest groups determined to maintain the status quo.

CHALLENGES West Bengal and Orissa, though with different political circumstances, faced many of the same socio-economic and political risks involved in implementing a difficult change initiative involving public enterprise reform. Stakeholder-related issues were at the core of the political economy challenges that confronted the reform leaders. Experience shows that areas of resistance came from various stakeholder groups who opposed and raised objections on the need to reform. For example, political leaders needed to protect party interests and are wary of potential labor unrest, SOE managers and workers fear the loss of job and reemployment opportunities, civil servants were concerned about the loss of prestige, benefits and rent capture, labor leaders worry about a weakened power base due to worker retrenchment, and the media and the public are concerned about the welfare of workers.

APPROACH The reform leaders of West Bengal and Orissa grappled with reform obstacles through similar approaches by engaging in stakeholder dialogue, building credibility, arriving at a shared understanding of the problems and mobilizing broad support for reform solutions. Both states shared a clear understanding of the relationship between politics and stakeholder-driven communication to create strong constituencies of support for reform.

The major difference between the two states was the approach and the focus of the communication strategy that each employed to attack reform. A major political stakeholder in West Bengal is the ruling CPI (M) which has been in power for 30 years and represents 90 percent majority in the state legislature. The Party’s longevity has been attributed to the importance given to maintaining consensus and the presence of a well-disciplined party machinery capable of informing and mobilizing politicians, labor organizations, govern-

3 Source: Masty, S.J. (2008), ‘Communication, coalition Building and Development: Public Enterprise Reform in West Bengal and Orissa States, India,’ in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington DC ment and other key stakeholders. It was clear to the government reform leaders that they needed to build support both inside and outside the party structure.

West Bengal’s communication process focused on making internal communication the starting point of the reform effort. The reform team conducted extensive dialogue among public enterprise managers, unions and the government to identify respective SOE issues, jointly explored and arrived at options for reform solutions. They gained stakeholder support through the dialogues and internal consultations held over a three-year period that led to an informal coalition with a collective force for a broader mobilization of supporters. The reform team worked quietly and strategically to build stakeholder support before involving the news media. Low-tech methods of communication, involving personal communication through meetings, letters and other written correspondence, were highly effective. They used these channels to build a strong case for reform by citing the economic, financial and social consequences of inaction. Efforts at ensuring participation and consultative dialogue safeguarded political support. After consensus was built, the reform team launched a media blitz to inform and educate the public via press briefings, positive media coverage using electronic, print and broadcast media.

In Orissa, the reform effort was led by the new chief minister and a small group of senior civil servants who championed the reform by engaging in an open and public debate that built statewide consensus. They published white papers which acknowledged the government’s shortcomings in dealing with the debt burden and proposed urgent and drastic steps to address the fiscal problem. They called for detailed discussions and public debate on the issue. There was lack of support at the highest levels of government where there were conflicting ideas on scope and intent of reform. Among middle managers there was no consensus and the reform efforts were perceived as threat to their powers.

Reform leaders recognized the importance of raising the political awareness and an effective communication- and coalition-building strategy to support reform efforts. To raise stakeholder understanding, the media became the key component of the communication strategy. The reform team organized field visits and held frequent briefings for the media. Journalists issued press releases and covered specific reform topics in different newspapers. Video memoranda were powerful advocacy tools which strengthened the argument for reform. A documentary video on privatization and worker retraining was widely circulated among key stakeholders. The media campaign culminated in a major colloquium event, with the attendance of various key stakeholders. Overall, the first phase of the reform benefitted from the positive media coverage.

RESULTS

Though their communication approaches were different—West Bengal focused on internal communication and inquiry rather than advocacy and Orissa pursued a politically-aware, media-centric strategy—the results for both states led to greater stakeholder understanding of the reform. From a communication perspective, these examples offer useful lessons when undertaking reform efforts:

- Initiate program planning with a good stakeholder analysis of their perceptions, interests and best channel to reach them.
- Integrate communication into each step of project development, then in project implementation. At each stage ask, “Who needs to be told what?”
- Build pro-reform coalitions.
- Test each communication to determine whether the message reaches the target audience, and, where possible, establish benchmarks for evaluating stakeholder attitudes, by which you can later attempt to measure communication impact.
- Use dialogue and participation to build stakeholder understanding and demand for reform. Case Summary 4

Nicaragua Participation, Transparency and Consensus Building In Public Sector Reform

CONTEXT

Nicaragua is faced with serious vulnerabilities in several fronts. In 2001, it ranked as the second poorest country in Latin America. Its economy was burdened by high external debt and susceptible to external shocks, including natural calamities and commodity price cycles. The economic and public sector environment was characterized by the presence of powerful interest groups and a lack of broad-based constituency for comprehensive reforms.

CHALLENGES

In June 2004, the Directorate for Strategic Communication and Governance (DCEG) was created within the Secretaria de Coordinación Estratégica de la Presidencia (SECEP) to support the governance reform process through the use of strategic communication. DCEG conducted an analysis of the most pressing issues in the country and defined the challenges that the communication program would seek to address, including:

1. The lack of transparency in public administration and the widespread perception of corruption among public officials.
2. The low level of trust toward association-building mechanisms at the local level.
3. The negative and polarized attitude of the media toward public administration activities.
4. The failure to understand reform among civil servants
5. The negative perceptions of people about their quality of life.
6. The incoherent image of public administration, as well as the muddled messages coming from it.

The active engagement of citizens in the policy-making process was considered a crucial challenge. Establishing incentives for initiating public demand for social accountability and enabling the environment for political will at the local level were the most ambitious challenges for DCEG.

APPROACH

Using this analysis, DCEG, with the support of other allies within the government, built a framework for a strategic communication program. Its overarching objective was to “strengthen the transparency and participation processes of the public sector reform, and foster the change of people’s attitudes and perceptions toward the most relevant economic issues with a particular focus on fighting corruption.” The program design was structured around two expected results: (1) the development of an integrated and functioning participatory system to provide citizens with better access to information and to establish two-way communication

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4 Source: Bruni, M. (2008), ‘Participation, Transparency and Consensus Building in Public Sector Reform: The Case of Nicaragua’, in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington DC mechanisms between government and civil society and (2) the strengthening of government’s communication capacity by establishing a professionalized communication network in ministries and other key national institutions on the most important social and economic development initiatives.

Seven criteria were ascertained for the development of communication programs:

**People first**, which called for the use of true stories in the communication products in order to create messages that resonate with the people and help to build public trust.

**Useful infrastructure**, to link infrastructure to its function (for example, roads with improved commercial opportunities and water systems with health), and to prevent the infrastructure from being used as a means to showcase “achievements” by politicians.

**Government close to the people**, which aimed at providing practical information on public services, and promoting knowledge of civic rights and responsibilities.

**Twenty-first-century modernity**, to provide an image of a modern country with a future.

**Common ground**, to shift the focus from political conflict to development objectives.

**Friendly and verifiable data**, to build trust and create easy-to-understand messages from government

**Added value and open opportunities**, to provide useful information, such as contact information and the names of public procedures, among others.

To improve participation and the quality of policy interventions, two-way communication mechanisms between the central government and relevant stakeholders in the territories was established. Governments were allowed to tap wider sources of information, perspectives, and potential solutions to meet the challenges of policymaking. At the local level, coalition and constituency building was carried out to strengthen participation.

The transparency strategy implemented by DCEG was able to address only the information supply side. In 2003, civil society organizations formed an advocacy group to discuss with the executive and the assembly the likelihood of passing access-to-information legislation. DCEG proposed, as an alternative to the law, a three-stage voluntary access to public information strategy, *Estrategia Voluntaria de Acceso a Información Pública* (EVA, or Voluntary Access to Information Strategy) as an initiative to make available all the digital information produced by the public sector. The strategy involved the dissemination of information already available, the organization of pre-existing paper archives and the creation of a Center for Transparency that would provide information to citizens through face-to-face services, or by phone and online.

Consensus-building efforts concentrated not only on citizens, CSOs, and other ‘external’ actors, but also on creating political will within the government and the public administration at large. The consensus-building strategy focused on the attitude and perceptions of internal and external stakeholders toward improved ownership of the *res publica* (public matters). The consensus-building activities to support the overall communication program revolved around four main themes: (1) the economic agenda, (2) the attitude of people toward the county’s development, (3) the Poverty Reduction Strategy, and (4) public services delivery and citizens’ rights and duties. Among the main challenges were the lack of a professionalized public sector communication network to deal with the most important social and economic development initiatives, and a weak level of consensus around the reform agenda within the government.

Capacity building of the public sector’s communicators and the creation of a public sector communication network was important for establishing new communication standards in the government and to ensure the delivery of a coherent governmental message on topics related to PRSP and public sector reform. A government-services web portal was launched which contained general information on services, public administration official contacts, and links to EVA and to all public administration websites. Four different media campaigns were developed to sustain the country’s image and deliver messages about the reform program, on the economic agenda and in support of the EVA. The main objective of the campaigns was to change the public’s perception of a fragmented public administration and to increase public expectations for a better personal economic situation.

Many institutions were doubtful about the need for a single strategy for the entire public sector. The main concern was related to the loss of power consequent to the establishment of a unique visual image. Presidential support and enforcement were necessary to overcome the resistance.

RESULTS

This case demonstrates how communication can be used holistically in support of good governance, to build coalitions and constituencies around reforms and to increase citizen demand for accountability and foster participation at the local level. The communication strategy built around these three dimensions created the basis for strengthened citizenship at the local level.

The main constraint of the intervention was the failure to engage the legislative branch in the process. The lesson from this experience is that communication strategies for supporting public-sector reforms, regardless of the context, should keep a keen focus on the res publica. This approach fosters a larger definition of state and public administration beyond the concept of government, which is often confused with the idea of the executive branch.

Since the implementation of the communication program and despite initial resistance to the new visual image, a sense of ownership has been fostered among public officials. Coaching high-level officials on the merits of strategic communication enabled them to communicate more coherently. This change, together with the media campaigns, helped to condition the attitude of the media, both broadcast and print, toward their coverage choices. In 2005, alarmist and sensational headlines were replaced by a more informed dialogue around development issues that, on several occasions, stole the center stage away from political conflict.

The access-to-information strategy demonstrated that it was possible for Nicaragua to coordinate several institutions into providing timely and relevant information to the citizens.

With respect to consultation, one of the communication program’s achievements was the intra-governmental coalition building that ensured coherence of messages and support for transparency and participation among high-level officials. This coalition, along with the positioning of DCEG at the highest level of government and its blended functions of communication and governance, ensured participation of the executive’s political will in support of strengthened citizen demand for accountability and inclusion.

In the long term, however, the political capital gained from the program has been shown to be unsustainable, given the robust spoils system and the turnover in a public administration strongly conditioned by political change. Case Summary 5

Bulgaria Tax Reform and Communication: Getting It Right

CONTEXT Efforts to reform the Bulgarian tax system called for urgent and enormous changes. The Bulgarian tax system was inefficient and bureaucratic. It performed poorly in terms of revenue collection: citizen-taxpayers did not trust the system and foreign investors were disengaged. To halt further decline, the government mounted a reform effort to modernize its tax collection facilities and unify and simplify internal processes. This involved organizational restructuring by merging the revenue-collection function of the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) and the General Tax Directorate (GTD) into a new, single tax authority - the National Revenue Agency (NRA). The reform had three main objectives: to increase economic efficiency, cut tax rates, and benefit from economies of scale when collecting revenue.

CHALLENGES The main communication challenge in this reform agenda was the lack of internal consensus and public support. In an environment where the civil service is historically averse to openness and transparency, efforts to engage in internal and external communication was frustrated by technocratic and bureaucratic reluctance. Hostile opposition came from civil servants themselves, who feared change and worried over loss of their jobs and privileges. Although public demand for reform was high, information on new modes of compliance was non-existent.

Information from opinion surveys revealed that taxpayers believed that their tax rates were punitive. They had limited knowledge about how the taxpayer's money was being spent by the government. For the NRA communicators, political uncertainty and delay were part of the problem. The legislation creating the NRA was approved only 72 hours before it had to begin collecting taxes. There was little opportunity to initiate public education and outreach activities to inform people about new system and the overall benefits of the reform.

APPROACH The communication strategy focused on ensuring transparency and engaging in dialogue. To quickly gain broad-based support for reform, the NRA set up a communication unit to focus on internal and external communication. To build internal consensus, the NRA launched an internal communication strategy and formed a steering committees consisting of senior management, specialists in business taxes and other taxation, communicators, and strategic planners. Senior NRA officials held briefings for various employee groups. These sessions served as communication channels for informing employees about the results of public opinion surveys on attitudes about taxes, discussing the need for the reform, and presenting the government's plan of action to improve the tax collection process. Time was also spent discussing employee opportunities for personal advancement and career development, as well as the inherent challenges of the reform.

Source: "Tax Reform and Communication in Bulgaria: Getting It Right", in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington DC. This case study is a condensed version of an unpublished work by S. J. Masty titled "Bulgarian Tax and Communication: Getting It Right". new system and separation benefits for those in jobs considered redundant in the new organization. The presence of a feedback mechanism provided two-way communication between the managers and employees via the government e-mail service, and the NRA intranet assured employees of continuing open dialogue in the reform process.

Personal follow-up letters were sent to each of the 8,000 employees, reiterating the information provided in the briefings. This strategy of sending out personalized letters was recognized as an important step in the process of consensus building. It built trust and confirmed the NRA’s genuine efforts to reach out to its employees. Pursuing this further, NRA created an “employee of the year” program as an incentive for various levels of civil servants. The NRA also engaged staff dialogue in the preparation of a Code of Practice to hasten the shift in organizational culture. Staff consultations, led by the Analysis Department, helped identify 300 performance indicators, which ultimately received backing from the civil servants.

To build public support, external communication began with a media campaign targeted incrementally at three areas: image making—to create public awareness of the new institution, practical information—on filing taxes and various new regulations and changes, and public relations—to explain the changes and encourage greater compliance.

Opinion sampling played a key role in assessing public sentiment and taxpayer attitudes and in informing the process of employee dialogue. Through public opinion research, the NRA and the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia discovered that their customer base could be divided into four stakeholder groups: individuals who paid taxes, small-scale entrepreneurs and the self-employed, corporations, and the nation’s biggest taxpayers. They also gained in-depth knowledge about stakeholder attitudes and the reasons for noncompliance, for example:

- Awareness of the NRA was 67 percent among the wealthy, 40 percent among individual taxpayers and 15 percent among entrepreneurs and small business owners.
- Everybody had difficulties filing their tax returns.
- 50 percent of the rich and 75 percent of sole proprietors thought Bulgaria’s tax system was inequitable; and a smaller percent thought the tax burden was too high.
- Reasons for noncompliance included: rates too high, tax procedures changed too quickly, and there is lack of transparency about how government spends tax money.
- Reasons for compliance included taxpayer integrity and fear of arrest.

Based on this information, the NRAs public campaign focused on citizen demand for change in tax collection practices. The key campaign activities conducted for the 2006 and 2007 tax filing seasons included:

- Public service docudrama that vividly explained what is purchased with tax money and how the people’s everyday lives benefits from it; advocacy spots on newly installed monitors in the most widely trafficked public buses; targeted billboards, print ads and web-based advertising.
- “Myths and Facts” information sheet and an article titled “Fair Already” that addressed the primary concerns of individuals and corporate payers alike.
- Short documentary film aired nationwide to raise awareness and reinforce the fact that Bulgaria’s tax rates are among the lowest in Europe.
- Personalized letters to 15,000 businesses and accountants, followed up by personal and small group meetings wherever possible.
- Regular media briefings; creation of new NRA Web site and a 50-person telephone bank to answer public enquiries.
- Attitudinal research by the NRA to devise different approaches to radio and television advertising information for taxpayers. • Attention-grabbing, animated TV advertisements with compelling messages. • A national, televised NRA-sponsored extravaganza celebrating each year’s biggest taxpayer.

RESULTS AND LESSONS

By the end of the 2006 tax season, awareness of the NRA’s activity among corporate taxpayers—the greatest source of NRA tax revenues—more than tripled, from 21 to 79 percent. This success in communication played a role in the NRA’s financial achievements: revenues increased 54 percent, from 4.8 billion leva in 2005 to 7.4 billion leva in 2006, in part because the NRA set a record in 2006 for tax filings, which exceeded 1 million returns for the first time.

Some useful lessons from the Bulgaria experience:

1. Perform a communication capability and needs assessment as part of the project design process.
2. Use expertise inside and outside government.
3. Budget for measurement to establish baselines for testing and against which to measure progress.
4. Ensure that communication output is strong enough for audiences to get key messages.
5. Leave enough time to engage in dialogue to reduce stakeholder resistance and for building stakeholder support.
6. Determine advertising budgets in advance. Reform projects should not be caught short of funds. Case Summary 6

Rwanda Public Sector Middle Managers: The Critical Link to Driving Public Sector Reforms

CONTEXT

The tragic genocide and civil war in 1994 led to a badly damaged economic infrastructure, loss of skilled human resources and diminished public services. The post-genocide administration reestablished public institutions and reorganized public administration. To date, Rwanda has seen rapid reforms take off involving various public sector institutions. To address serious and persistent gaps in capacity building, however, the government established a Multi-Sector Capacity Building Programme (MSCBP) alongside the Human Resources and Institutional Capacity Development Agency (HIDA) responsible for strategic leadership, implementation oversight, and coordination of capacity building programs in the country.

CHALLENGES

HIDA faced several operational challenges which needed to be addressed to ensure success of their programs. First was the question of “how to package capacity building.” Middle managers who are directors or heads of departments consider training as capacity building and will only cooperate if the support is in that direction. In their view, capacity building can be offered solely through scholarships to study abroad.

Another constraint in the Rwandan experience is the tendency of public institutions to take a predominantly supply-driven approach to capacity-building interventions. This has contributed to major gaps and the lack of sustainability in these activities. Examples of weaknesses in such an approach include a mismatch between training needs and training, weak ownership, oversupply or undersupply of skills, and overlap and duplication of interventions. Instances abound where training is prescribed by the management staff but does not tally with the worker’s job description.

To support the adoption of the demand-driven approach, HIDA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with all its client institutions. The MoUs established cooperation and partnership arrangements, but most importantly, it included a list of client-identified capacity-building activities drawn from the clients’ strategic and action plans. This made HIDA’s interventions acceptable, appropriate, and sustainable among middle management staff. Program reviews, however, indicated that the “usual way of supply-driven training” is still prevalent despite the presence of these MoUs. The practice has not changed, and this shows a lack of acceptance and ownership of managers in the client institutions.

APPROACH

To strengthen efforts in reaching out to public sector middle managers, HIDA placed emphasis on their role as partners and not just consumers in the change process.

To build support for capacity-building interventions, it networked with top government leaders and policy makers to develop ‘buy-in.’ Once these individuals are on board, support percolates down to middle-level

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6 Source: Malinga, P. (2008), ‘Public Sector Middle Managers: The Critical Link to Driving Public Sector Reforms,’ Chapter 10, in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington DC management; all new policies and reforms are subjected to a consultative and validation process. During the preparation of the National Skills Development Policy, two committees were formed: a national steering committee (comprised of six ministers from cross-cutting ministries) and a national task force (consisting of secretaries general from all ministries) in which middle-level managers were appointed to serve in key roles.

Government technocrats were sensitized to the importance of taking ownership of the process through constant dialogue, direct technical assistance and coaching to build sustained internal capacity and enabling them to make informed choices. For example, HIDA supports various public institutions, which are referred to as “clients,” not “beneficiaries.” These clients have signed MoUs, now a tool of partnership, with HIDA.

HIDA also initiated “peer groups” among public sector professionals to create a forum for discussion of common capacity challenges. Various forums were used as platforms to disseminate its success stories and best practices. Workshops were organized to serve as advocacy forums where discussions are supported by well-documented research to arguments in favor of the reform. Radio and television programs, newsletters and websites were utilized to gain broader reach in sharing information.

In July 2006, HIDA conducted a pilot Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception (KAP) survey to gauge public servants’ experience with work facilitation and their perception of HIDA’s services. HIDA aims to focus on public servants as “customers” in reform, not “victims” or uninformed bystanders.

RESULTS

HIDA’s communication and advocacy efforts have led to promising results that should show continued progress in achieving desired development outcomes. HIDA has raised awareness of the strategic issues in capacity building and has earned increased leverage, morale, and pride in continuing its work.

There is broad consensus among government, senior and middle managers alike and other stakeholders on what capacity-building entails and how it should be packaged. This approach will positively affect planning and absorption of resources targeting capacity building. Most stakeholders, including government officials, acknowledge that much duplication, overlap and the squandering of resources have taken place. Continuing efforts of information-sharing and planned capacity-building activities are well appreciated within government and across donor communities. The second generation of the World Bank-supported Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) now includes a capacity-building subsector. Case Summary 7

Slovakia Public Opinion and Pension Reform

CONTEXT The changing demographics, the pressures of Euro-integration, and the near collapse of the old centralized system prompted the need for pension reform in Slovakia. The old pay-as-you-go model had to be replaced with a new system that introduced obligatory personal pension accounts administered by private companies and included voluntary private accounts for additional contributions to pension savings. The pension reform implemented by the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family (MOLSAF), as the agency with oversight of the National Labor Office and the Social Insurance Agency, was part of this comprehensive package of economic reforms. In cooperation with the World Bank, the Slovak government established a program titled, “Strengthening Government Capacity to Develop and Implement Public Information Programs in Support of Economic Reforms.”

CHALLENGES

Lack of Political Will The reform needed the support from the members of parliament (MPs). Securing their vote for the proposed reforms, including the pension system reform, would provide the authorizing mandate to implement much needed systemic changes. Thus, reformers needed to make a strong case and provide MPs and other decision makers with sufficient information and arguments.

Lack of Support from Middle Managers Enlisting the support of the Slovakian civil service, particularly the middle managers, was also a challenge. It was important for the reformers to engage members of the civil service, show appreciation for their work, and explain the reforms in terms of the middle managers’ enlightened self-interest.

Lack of Public Support Support of the Slovak public and relevant stakeholders in favor of the proposed reforms had to be secured. Public information on the rationale behind the reforms, and its benefits and costs were crucial in conveying the vision for change and managing public expectations. A constant flow of information between the government, on the one hand, and the media and stakeholder groups, on the other, was needed to secure public support.

APPROACH Key to the program was the creation of a center to coordinate all communication activities. The center engaged in both analytical and training activities, including (1) a public opinion research program, ongoing media monitoring, opinion polls and surveys conducted by third parties, and comparative analysis of relevant trends in other countries. During the 18-month period of grant implementation, the center conducted two representative face-to-face baseline surveys, two representative computer-assisted telephone interviews, and 12 focus groups, and (2) targeted training of key communication staff members on strategic communication, and media training for senior officials entrusted with communicating the reforms to the public at large.

Source: ‘Slovakia: Public Opinion and Reform’ in Governance Reform Under Real World Conditions, eds. S. Odugbemi and T. Jacobson, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Washington DC SECURING POLITICAL WILL

To gain legislative support for the new Slovak pension system, reformers launched a public campaign which included the following activities:

- Analysis of the key stakeholder groups to address them separately with specific messages,
- Preparation of an “influence pack”—a set of arguments and information about the forthcoming pension reform as it pertained to different target groups,
- Media training for key officials at MOLSAF and the Financial Market Authority who would make public judgment on the pension reform,
- Regular workshops, seminars, and business breakfasts for opinion leaders, especially MPs,
- Regular workshops for the media,
- A special two-day workshop for MPs, attended by foreign consultants,
- A study tour to Chile by Slovak MPs, designed to give them an empirical understanding of how similar reforms worked in that country.

SECURING THE PUBLIC WILL

The issue of pension reform resonated well with the public. It was clear that given the shifting demographics, the state-controlled, pay-as-you-go system could not guarantee future financial security for younger Slovaks entering the labor market. To gain public trust and increase understanding, messages were kept simple.

Through effective use of public opinion research—surveys, polling, and focus groups—reformers were able to measure the growing public support for the reforms. A local company carried out both qualitative and quantitative public opinion research.

The public campaign was aided by an advertising blitz sponsored by pension companies. Ads saturated the airwaves and increased public awareness of the reforms. MOLSAF’s simple message—that “you can manage your own money” if you subscribe to the privately administered options—was reinforced by private sector advertising.

The campaign was successful, as evidenced by public opinion data. According to Markant’s Public Information Survey Company, “In the first survey, conducted in June 2003, 65 percent of the respondents approved of the change in the pay-as-you-go system. From June 2004 to May 2005, the share of those who agreed with the proposed or implemented reform increased from 37 percent to 58 percent. The share of those who did not agree with the reform—about 25 percent—remained relatively constant in the observed time period.

SECURING MIDDLE MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

One common challenge in implementing reform programs is working with members of the civil service. They can be your best allies or the worst enemies. Breaching the redoubt of middle-level managers who did not support the reforms for a host of reasons was a key challenge in Slovakia’s pension reform.

The reformers’ approach was first to gain the trust and respect of middle managers by attending all their meetings, inviting influential managers to external meetings and events, and setting a positive and appreciative tone in their interactions. By showing appreciation for middle managers’ work, explaining the reforms within the context of their self-interest, and projecting a forward looking and inclusive vision, reformers were able to secure middle managers’ support for advancing the reform campaign. The success of the pension reform can be largely attributed to the cooperation of the MOLSAF middle managers. RESULTS

Slovakia’s pension system is now rated among the most progressive in Europe. Approximately 1.7 million Slovaks, or close to 30 percent of the population, have subscribed to the pension reform, thereby locking it into the financial system and making a policy reversal very difficult. More broadly, the set of pension reforms was successful in improving Slovakia’s overall economic condition.

The communication strategy helped to secure the public will and sustain reform momentum. Public opinion still favors the reforms. The Slovak public’s current support for the reforms despite the defeat of the Dzurinda administration in 2006 testifies to the complex relationship between public will and political will.

Communicating Difficult Reforms: Eight Lessons from Slovakia By Jeremy Rosner

The communication lessons from the broad economic reforms include the following:

1. Connect with the national mood. Happy talk about how well things are going will not be effective in a country where the majority of the public believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Instead, leaders need to connect with public sentiment through research on how people feel. If the public sees the country to be going in the wrong direction, there is a need to take that direction seriously and to engage with a frame of communication that acknowledges that things are not going as they should. If the reforms are already in place and things are not going well, explain why that is the case or how the reforms will deal with it.

2. Adopt a clear, unifying message. In many cases, as in Slovakia, when one explains a complex reform or set of reforms to the public, it is important to pull back from the myriad details and to construct a unifying message that makes sense to people, is memorable, and ties pieces together. In Slovakia, the Dzurinda government was seeking to build support for at least seven different major reforms. The ministers and civil servants working on these reforms had strong explanations about why each of these reforms was important, but the cumulative impact of all the information on the public often was more akin to white noise. However, the research suggested that if the government were to use a central set of ideas and messages that explained what the reforms were about—that, taken together, they were aimed at attracting new investors and new jobs for Slovakia—it was possible for the government to increase support for their reforms. With a unifying message, the reforms suddenly became—for many people—intuitive, memorable, and attractive.

3. Explore opportunities for reframing the debate. Leaders and reformers often exhibit a stubborn streak in fighting against public opinion, as if presenting their facts over and over will eventually sway people, unaware that there may be opportunities to reframe the debate in ways that can generate more agreement for support. In Slovakia, by early 2005 the dislocations and other costs of the reforms had left the Dzurinda government with only minority support on the question of whether people approved or disapproved of the reforms. Yet focus group discussions revealed that people were against the idea of repealing the reforms; even though much of the public resented many elements and consequences of the reforms, they felt strongly that repealing the reforms would make their country even worse off. Subsequent quantitative research indicated that about three-quarters of respondents actually wanted to improve on the reforms rather than repeal them. By rephrasing the alternatives as whether to keep the reforms and to improve on them or to repeal them, the government was able to pursue a dramatic reframing that opened the door to a much more positive and receptive dialogue with a very large majority.

4. Act macro; talk micro. Leaders in many transitional governments often think and talk too exclusively in macro-terms. Unfortunately for their communications efforts, life is lived in micro-terms. For example, in Slovakia the dominant goal of the health care reforms was to reduce the debts imposed by the health care systems. This message did not resonate with the public because it just did not relate to people’s lives. Most citizens do not come in contact with the debts of the health care system, but, rather, with doctors and hospital beds and pharmacies. Naturally, quite a different set of concerns with the health care system surfaced during focus group discussions, but the government had not sufficiently addressed these concerns in its communications. By listening to the public through opinion research, and by doing more to look at the problem through the eyes of the citizens who are the consumers of the health care system, the government found the door opened to new lines of communication that could explain the micro-benefits of the health reforms. All this action requires looking through the other end of the telescope, to go from a “macro” lexicon to a “micro” lexicon.

5. Confront the public’s biggest concerns. Reforms almost always entail costs that are usually unevenly shared, generating fears and resentments. Instead of confronting those fears and resentments, many reformers try to avoid the subject and to keep things focused on the positive aspects of the reforms. This approach can leave the public feeling that the government is out of touch. One of the most powerful things that a government can do is to admit and give voice to the public’s biggest concerns. It takes enormous political courage to deal with them head on, but this act buys the government credibility and opens it up to hearing about other difficult issues.

6. Build capacity on the ground. It is often important to build the capacity of ministers, state secretaries, and spokespeople on how they frame messages and communicate with the media. In Slovakia, an extensive training program was conducted for government officials; the benefits of such capacity building may play out only over the long term, but they will tend to contribute to building the capacity of transitional governments to take the public’s views seriously, to investigate and research those views, and to frame messages that will connect and address those views constructively.

7. Stop talking politics. Government officials love to talk politics because, in many countries, the way to get ahead in political life, at least under pre democratic political regimes, was by doing battle within the inner political circles rather than by talking to the public. Thus, many leaders are eager to air their political intrigues, designs, and grievances, which in turn allow or encourage the media to focus on those issues rather than on any discussions of reform. When this happens, the result is that all the public hears about is political battles, the personalities, the parties, and the coalitions. In Slovakia, by a three-to-one ratio, people said the bigger problem was that the government was spending too much time talking about politics and not about the reforms, rather than the alternative choice that the government was bad at explaining the reforms. Politics crowds out explanations of reforms. If government wants its messages about reforms to get through to people, it needs to stop talking politics.

8. Start early. When reformers build a process of listening to the public early on and develop their communications around dialogue with the public, there have been impressive results. Pension reform in Slovakia had two very talented communications consultants who built a conversation and a process of messaging from the very first stages of the reform design, which brought about state-of-the-art thinking on how to research and frame the reform effort thoroughly from top to bottom. That reform, in turn, made a huge impact on the success of the reform. Managing stakeholder-related challenges is critical to achieving successful results in governance-reform implementation. Many of the approaches and techniques presented in this book have been used in conjunction with practical tools designed to inform the design and implementation of communication-based solutions. Sample templates of these tools are provided here for facilitators to use as part of the learning resource toolbox.

# SESSION PLANNING

| Title of Session | |------------------| | Specific Objective/s | | Challenge being Addressed | | Key Messages |

**Details** *(provide a brief description below, as explained for each item)*

01. Date & Time Slot Assigned *(as per agenda)*
02. Name & Title of Session Lead *(also indicate back-up contact)*
03. Type of Session *(case presentation, lecture, practical exercise, other – please specify)*
04. Key Speaker/s – and discussants, if any *(name and organizational affiliation)*
05. Process of the Session *(specify structure, process, and distribution of time during the session – ideally, with a running time order)*
06. Role of Moderator OR Facilitator *(intermediary/broker OR catalyst/stimulator)*
07. Role of Participants *(specify type of engagement expected)*
08. Reference Materials – and Hand-Outs, if any *(indicate the format and the time of distribution for each item: pre-workshop, prior to or during the session, or post-workshop)*
09. Space Layout *(indicate preference for theater, classroom, café style or other setting)*
10. Equipment and other Session Supplies *(laptop or other projection equipment, number and type of microphones, flip charts/markers, audio-video equipment, and other tools, as required)*

### 11. Distance Connection/s and Recording

(specify requirements)

### 12. Refreshments

(indicated time slot during the process, if part of the session)

______________________________________________________________________

**Figure 2.1**

______________________________________________________________________

**STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS**

| Stakeholder | Interests | Perceptions | Position on reform | Influence | |-------------|-----------|-------------|--------------------|-----------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

**Figure 2.2** Communication Management Decisions

Management Objective: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

| AUDIENCE | BEHAVIOR | MESSAGES | CHANNELS | EVALUATION | |----------|----------|----------|----------|------------| | | | Take-away Messages | Supporting Data | |

Figure 2.3 © C. Verzosa

Targeting Strategies

Unmovable opponents Opponents Uncommitted and Uninvolved Uncommitted and Involved Allies Hard-core Allies

Minimal persuasion Deactivate or convert Minimal persuasion Activate Reinforce Minimal persuasion

Figure 2.4 Copyright © 2001 by Gary Orren Figure 2.5

Power-Interest Matrix

Advocates

Players

The Crowd

The Context-setters

High Interest

Low Interest

High Power

Low Power

Figure 2.6

Influence-Interest Matrix

High Influence of Stakeholders

High Interest in Reform

Low Interest in Reform

Low Influence of Stakeholders **Agenda-Setting** The media may not affect what people think, but may affect what they think about, through the choice of which topics to cover and what to emphasize. Control of the flow of information is often referred to as “gatekeeping,” and is based not only on media professionals’ perceptions of what is important, but also on time and space limitations (Cohen, 1963; Lippmann, 1922).

**Arbitration** It is similar to a legal hearing where both parties present information regarding their position to a third-party neutral, an arbitrator, who then makes a decision regarding the best way to manage the conflict.

**Attitude** An individual’s evaluation or beliefs about a recommended response.

**Behavior** Action one would like the target audience to take to help the program achieve its goal.

**Barriers** Something that would prevent an individual from carrying out a recommended response.

**Coalition** Self-conscious, freely-organized, active and lasting alliances of elites, organizations, and citizens sharing partially overlapping political goals; formed to carry out joint or coordinated activities.

**Coalition Building** The process of creating collaborative engagement among groups of people with shared interests and who have agreed to work together to attain a common goal.

**Communication** What links citizens, civil society, the media system, and government, forming a framework for national dialogue through which informed public opinion is shaped. Processes, principles and structures or institutions that determine the way communication takes place. In governance reform, communication can contribute to (1) cultivating public spheres which support transparency, accountability, and participation; and 2) changing attitudes, opinions, and behavior in support of reform objectives. By incorporating a public sphere approach to existing governance diagnostics, communication can be helpful in assessing institutional and structural factors which can support or impede broad stakeholder participation in governance reform processes. In terms of operational and implementation support, the power of communication lies primarily in the area of influence.

**Communication strategy** Consists of management decisions that guide the communication plan itself. In a reform program, a communication strategy supports the attainment of a reform’s management objectives in at least three ways: (1) by increasing awareness and knowledge about the problem being addressed by the reform; (2) by promoting a positive change in people's beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors; and (3) by encouraging the adoption of new practices that help the reform succeed.

**Episodic framing** This framing technique presents news in the form of specific events or particular cases; usually illustrating the issue in the absence of the wider context. Citizens are less likely to consider society responsible for the events, but are more inclined to think that individuals are responsible.

**Frames** Organizing principles that are socially shared and persistent over time, that work symbolically to structure the social world. (Reese, 2001)

**Framing** A communication technique that leads audiences to see something in a certain light or from a particular perspective. Frames are the particular treatment or “spin” an individual or organization gives to a message (Gitlin, 1980). While agenda-setting is choosing which stories to tell, framing is choosing how to tell them. Frames may “promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation.” (Entman, 1993, p. 54)

**Gain frame** Depicts something as rewarding, points to something positive given a specific action being done; it inspires hope.

**General public** Defines the entire given population, which is unorganized and disconnected. Individual opinions are formed outside the arena of public debate. People are generally interested only on their own personal gain. They have little concern for political affairs and have no political participation. Among the general public, there is no demand for accountability.

**Identity frame** Promotes a sense of identity with a group working on a common cause.

**Incentives** What drives the behavior and actions of individuals and organized groups. They are influenced by an individual's personal motivations (material rewards, financial gains, social advancement) and the opportunities and/or constraints from the individual's principal economic and political relationships.

**Injustice frame** Portrays unfair or biased treatment and influenced by prejudice or discrimination; it incites moral indignation.

**Loss frame** Points out what can happen if you nothing is done to prevent a negative outcome from happening; it communicates urgency.

**Management objective** The development problem which a specific reform seeks to address; articulate the nature of reform, its rationale, and the development outcomes sought. A communication objective describes how communication concepts, approaches, and tools will be used to achieve the management objectives.

**Mediation** An approach in conflict management which utilizes a neutral third party called a mediator, who facilitates the two parties to talk and generate a mutually acceptable agreement, but who has no decision power.

**Mobilized public** This group represents the well informed public who have long-term interests in specific issues. They voice their opinions strongly and engage in organized action to realize civic goals. There is active demand for accountability and regular participation in and organization of civic forums. They are the most important group for accountability. Interest groups and advocacy organizations belong to the mobilized public.

**Multi-stakeholder dialogue** An interactive, working communication process that involves all types of stakeholders in decision-making and implementation efforts; involves all interest groups with a concern in a two-way communication process; focuses on increasing understanding and relations among stakeholders through the use of communication and creates a generative process that enables participants to move forward with shared objectives and implementation plans.

**Negotiation** A form of conflict management that involves two or more parties, who have a conflict of needs and desires that choose to negotiate through a give and take process involving proposals and counterproposals to search for a mutually acceptable agreement. There are two general strategies and clusters of negotiation tactics: (1) distributive (It adopts a “fixed” pie approach where resources are viewed as being limited and it becomes important to claim one’s rightful share of the pie) and (2) integrative emphasizes the importance of maximizing joint gains, of bargaining from a win-win orientation (rather than win-lose) where parties try to create agreements where both can prosper.

**Network Analysis** A method of collecting and analyzing data on the patterns of the social connections that link sets of actors. For example, *social groups* as collections of actors who are closely linked to one another; or *social positions* as sets of actors who are linked into the total social system in similar ways.

**Opinion** A subjective statement of view about an issue, and is usually driven by beliefs and desires.

**Persuasion** Communicative activities that are mediated and can be targeted at: (1) Cognition - to change individuals’ beliefs about an object or an issue, which includes attributes, interpretation, definition, outcome, etc.; (2) Attitude - to change individuals’ attitude toward an object or an issue, which refers to the categorization of an object or an issue along an evaluative dimension (from negative to positive); and (3) Behavior - to change individuals’ behavior, which is the overt actions regarding an object or an issue.

**Priming** Media messages may stimulate recall of stored ideas, knowledge, opinions or experiences associated in some way with the message content. For example, a news story about the French presidential election might trigger thoughts about the French economy, memories of a trip to Paris during college, or remind a person to put brie on their grocery list. (Fiske & Taylor, 1991)

**Public-interest lobbying** It is motivated by a concern for the public good and deploys the art of educating and persuading key audiences through direct, one-on-one contact.” Cohen, de la Vega, & Watson, 2001, p. 114) As such, it is an area of practice that draws on persuasive techniques directly relevant to carrying out reform initiatives.

**Public opinion** The consensus reached by a broad segment of the population through open discussion and debate among citizens on issues, policies or events of common concerns. When public opinion is crystallized into a strong and mobilized force, it changes the incentives of decision-makers and can be powerful in effecting real social change.

**Public sphere** The architecture of relationships and interactions among different political actors (state/public servants, private sector, citizens). It is represented by information and communication processes and effective communication among the actors can raise the voice of citizens to strengthen accountability.

**Strategic Communication** A stakeholder- or client-centered approach to promote voluntary changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to achieve development objectives.

**Thematic frame** Presents political issues and events in a general or collective context. Thematic frames depict topics more broadly and contextually by providing background information and analysis. Citizens who view news in a thematic frame are less likely to consider individuals responsible, but more likely to believe that society is responsible. People, Politics and Change: Building Communication Capacity for Governance Reform is an applied facilitator’s guide for reform managers, change agents, development practitioners, and training professionals who need to use smart communication techniques—the relevant concepts, frameworks and applications—to promote change through governance reform. It is grounded on the expert knowledge and practical research from academics and scholars and practitioners in the field, culled and enriched from CommGAP’s series of global dialogue on key governance issues.

Here is a storehouse of knowledge aimed at addressing the major communication challenges in governance reform and advancing CommGAP’s strategic focus in promoting positive, accountable governance in terms of development policy and practice. One of its goals is capacity building and disseminating innovative communication approaches and techniques to strengthen the various components of the public sphere—engaged citizens, a vibrant civil society, pluralistic and independent media, and transparent government institutions—to bring about positive outcomes through the sphere of government reform.